Taliban strengthening ahead of coalition pullout - Kyrgyz Border Service chief
BISHKEK/MOSCOW. Sept 5 (Interfax-AVN) - The coalition withdrawal from Afghanistan due in 2014 is fraught with regional complications, and the possibility of the Taliban taking over is one of the biggest threats, Kyrgyz State Border Service Chairman Kurmanakun Matenov said.
"Our biggest concerns are the strengthening positions and intensifying activity of the Taliban. To be frank, we fear that this movement may take over in Afghanistan, possibly, with the support of certain countries," Matenov said when answering an Interfax question about why the scheduled 2014 withdrawal caused so many fears and about the source of those fears.
He also said that threats to Central Asia related to terrorism, extremism and drug trafficking were coming from Afghanistan.
"Experts say that they [the threats] may escalate after the departure of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and we agree with their opinion. Therefore the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) decided to reinforce the Tajik-Afghan border. A special group has lately held a meeting and visited the border to evaluate the support CSTO member-states may offer. There are concerns about possible events after 2014 and they should not be concealed," Matenov said.