The terrorist attacks and the use of Tajiks in them were a big program of the West to destroy Tajikistan’s relations with friendly countries.
Source: “Sputnik Tajikistan”.
The Prosecutor General's Office of Tajikistan confirmed the arrest of more than 20 members of the terrorist group ISIS* during the Nowruz holiday this year.
Apparently, the terrorists, in parallel with the attack on Crocus City Hall in the city of Krasnogorsk, Moscow region of Russia, wanted to carry out a similar terrorist attack in the Tajik Vahdat to sow panic, fear and suppress the festive spirit of the country's residents.
Prosecutor General of Tajikistan Yusuf Rahmon, during a press conference, answering a question from Sputnik Tajikistan, said that during the celebration of Navruz, the law enforcement agencies of the republic actually prevented a terrorist attack.
“More than 20 members of the terrorist organization ISIS* have been arrested. Currently, the criminal case is in the judicial authorities. During the investigation, their connections with other terrorist organizations were examined in detail,” he said.
Rumors about the planning of such a terrorist attack and the arrest of dozens of people on the eve of March 22 appeared in Tajikistan almost a week later. Then Sputnik Tajikistan sources reported that during Navruz, about 35 people were arrested, and suspected of preparing attacks in Vahdat, Rudaki, Gissar, Dushanbe, and other regions.
According to law enforcement officials, ISIS terrorists were planning to infiltrate the Nowruz holiday on March 21 and pour poison into food cauldrons and samovars.
"They planned to enter the stadium of Vahdat before people arrived and deceive the organizers of the event and carry out the plan. The poison in their possession was lethal; the criminals tested it on a dog, which died after about 10 minutes," sources said.
The terrorists wanted to carry out a massacre on Nowruz to sow panic among the people.
“We should be grateful to the country’s law enforcement agencies, who were able to expose and stop this bloody plan quickly. They really did a great job, otherwise in Tajikistan, it would have been the same as in Crocus,” the source noted.
He did not provide information on how these people were exposed and where they were arrested, so as not to reveal the methods and style of operational work and detention of terrorists.
A DIFFERENT TONE
Confirmation by the Prosecutor General's Office of Tajikistan of the news of the arrest of members of ISIS* gives a different tone to the fight against terrorist challenges not only in Tajikistan but also in the CIS countries.
First of all, the question arises, given the terrorist attack on March 22 at the Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, Moscow Region, could the preparation of a terrorist attack in Vahdat be part of a broader plan by ISIS* in the post-Soviet space?
This question was also raised in the first days after the Crocus massacre. Still, it remained unanswered, since the terrorist attack in Vahdat was prevented and at the same time not advertised by the authorities.
The Prosecutor General's Office of Tajikistan confirmed that the country's leadership is closely cooperating with Russian law enforcement agencies in the investigation of the terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall.
“Their international requests regarding the criminal case regarding the terrorist attack in Crocus in Moscow were received by us. We discussed them at the appointed time, prepared appropriate responses, and sent them to the Russian side,” Yusuf Rahmon said.
However, he did not mention the connection between the events in Vahdat and Krasnogorsk. Also, he did not specify what other terrorist organization the group of those arrested in Vahdat was related to.
Sometimes official bodies, due to compliance with diplomatic norms and politeness, avoid mentioning specific countries and organizations, but the head of the Russian FSB, Alexander Bortnikov, immediately noted with confidence that the terrorist attack in Crocus was planned and prepared by ISIS* on the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan on instructions from the Security Service Ukraine to destroy relations between the CIS countries.
According to experts, from this, we can conclude that ISIS* or Viloyati Khuroson*** are behind all the terrorist attacks occurring in the countries, and natives of Central Asia are often used to carry out attacks.
Before the events in Russia, over the past 10 months, Tajik members of ISIS* also carried out bloody terrorist attacks at a mosque in Shiraz, at the grave of Qasim Soleimani in Qazvin city of Iran, and also in Kabul.
Why do citizens of Tajikistan become agents of ISIS*?
Former head of the Department of National Security and Vice President of Afghanistan Amrullah Saleh, in a conversation with Sputnik Tajikistan, argued that there are two ISIS* in Afghanistan, and both are under the control of the Taliban**.
“The first is ISIS*, located on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the second is used by the Taliban intelligence department** for its own purposes. Now it is necessary to find out which of them was involved in the terrorist attack in Crocus,” said Amrullah Saleh.
In turn, an expert on regional issues Nurulloh Huseynov believes that terrorist attacks involving natives of Tajikistan are a large program of the Americans and British aimed at destroying Dushanbe’s relations with its friendly countries - Iran, Russia, and China.
“All the American and English media have inflated this topic to present Tajikistan as an ISIS base that deliberately attacks countries that disagree with the United States. This is a multi-purpose program, and, as we see now, it has to some extent achieved its goal, which is why the United States and their allies will not give it up,” he said.
Now confirmation of news about ISIS plans in Vahdat sheds light on the real plans of this terrorist group to intimidate the population in Tajikistan.
And this is not the only case. Earlier, the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic, Ramazon Rahimzoda, called the attack in early January on the head of the People's Democratic Party organization in Kulyab, Saidali Saivalizoda, a terrorist attack. Then more than 10 people were arrested, whom some sources called members of ISIS*.
The statistics are disappointing. In the first half of 2024, 582 crimes of a terrorist and extremist nature were identified and 226 members of prohibited groups were detained. 220 persons accused under Article 307 - “Mass calls for a violent change in the constitutional system of Tajikistan” and 401 - “Mercenarism” voluntarily returned to their homeland.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, during this period three terrorist attacks were prevented in the republic, and the preparation of two more attacks was stopped, including in Vahdat.
In addition, 95 cases of financing terrorist crimes totaling half a million somoni were recorded, and 39 people were arrested in 43 cases.
Experts argue that the Tajik authorities refrain from publicizing details of terrorism-related crimes in the media so as not to spread panic in society, analyzing this practice in Russia and the rest of the CIS countries.
* "Islamic State" (IS or ISIS) - banned in Russia and Tajikistan.
** The organization is under UN sanctions for terrorist activities.
*** Terrorist organization, banned in Russia and Tajikistan.
