Central Asian nations & Russia's CSTO reluctant to host Afghan refugees & foreign outposts

The members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) are reluctant to host Afghan refugees and foreign military outposts on their land, according to Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's press office statement on September 16.

ANI reported, quoting Sputnik, that Tokayev attended a meeting of the CSTO's Collective Security Council in Dushanbe on September 16.

The press office statement said, "The CSTO's common position on the unacceptable deployment of Afghan refugees and foreign military sites on our countries' territory was endorsed by the head of state. Personnel from the UN field missions in Afghanistan were temporarily stationed in Almaty due to humanitarian concerns and the significance of giving international help to the Afghan people."

Afghanistan’s Refugee Crisis

Afghanistan's refugee crisis has risen to the fore since the Taliban's takeover. Last month, Afghanistan was thrown into chaos when the Taliban took control of Kabul after which the democratically elected government of then-President Ashraf Ghani collapsed.

Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan are two other Central Asian countries that border Afghanistan but are not members of the CSTO. Uzbekistan, on the other hand, has stated that it will only allow refugees to travel by plane to third countries for a brief period. 

According to UN Refugee Agency figures, more than 4,00,000 Afghans have been displaced from their homes this year alone. They fled as the terror group claimed territory under its control, bringing the total number of internally displaced people to five million by the end of 2020.

Thousands of Afghans await relocation on US military sites

Approximately 64,000 Afghan evacuees had landed in the United States as of September 14. After the United States withdrew from Afghanistan last month, the vast majority of Afghan citizens were put in jeopardy under Taliban administration. According to an official federal document obtained by The New York Times, nearly 49,000 people are staying on eight domestic military sites, waiting to be relocated in the United States. Approximately 18,000 people are stationed at sites around the world, the majority of which are in Germany. Some people leave after a few weeks, but the majority stay for months.

About CSTO countries

The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is a Eurasia-wide intergovernmental military alliance made up of post-Soviet republics. The treaty was drafted by the Soviet Armed Forces, which were gradually replaced by the Commonwealth of Independent States' United Armed Forces. CSTO members comprise Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, and Tajikistan.

(With inputs from ANI)

Image: AP