It is this number of Afghans who, having entered the territory of Tajikistan, received only a “temporary certificate of an asylum-seeker” and are forced to renew it every month.

Lack of refugee status creates many problems for the refugees themselves, and in the future may lead to fines or even deportation from Tajikistan. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tajikistan confirmed the information about the suspension of asylum applications, saying that “the decision was made for security reasons.”

Between Kushoniyon and Dushanbe: a document that is valid for a month

Musaddik is a senior official in the former Afghan government who left Afghanistan just before the Taliban took over Kabul in August 2021 and sought asylum in Tajikistan. In a conversation with us, Musaddik asked that his name and position not be made public. But he told how he got to Tajikistan and how he has been living here for more than seven months.