Tajikistan has no intention of getting into a direct confrontation with the Taliban. Rather, by taking a few more risks than its neighbours, the Tajik leadership is counting on boosting its popularity, both at home and abroad.

The group, which includes two female military pilots, said they do not want to remain in Tajikistan and hope to resettle in the United States

In Afghanistan, Arsalon and other Tajik militants are known as the “Tajik Taliban.” But in reality, they are members of Jamaat Ansarullah, which is banned in Tajikistan as a terrorist group.

In places where the Afghan defence forces and the local uprising forces stood against the Taliban, not only did the Taliban fail to gain any territory, but its forces were also thoroughly defeated.

Tajik rider Malika Rajabova is used to being the only woman on the field when she plays buzkashi, a Central Asian sport in which competitors on horseback fight to grab a goat carcass.

Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan may be inching closer than ever to hashing out a border delimitation deal that will end decades of territorial ambiguity.