Jamaat Ansarullah ( tg, Ҷамоати Ансоруллоҳ, fa, جماعت انصارالله), also known as the Tajikistani Taliban ( tg, Толибони Тоҷикистон, fa, طالبان تاجیکستان), is a Tajik Islamist militant movement currently based out of Badakhshan, Afghanistan. It is related to

al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

History

Jamaat Ansarullah was founded in 2006 under the leadership of Amriddin Tabarov which was composed of Islamist and opposition members who refused to accept the 1997 armistice ending the Tajik Civil War. It gained prominence in 2010 when it perpetrated a suicide bombing in the city Khujand, Tajikistan targeting a police station. Three were killed and 25 were wounded. The group was banned by the Tajik government in 2012. In 2015, the group's founder was killed by the Afghan National Security Forces. He would be succeeded by the son of one of his closest associates, Muhammad Shafirov, who is better known as Mahdi Arsalon. During the 2021 summer offensive, the Afghan Taliban gave the Tajiki Taliban, and by extension Arsalon, security control over five districts in northern Badakhshan province. In September 2021, Arsalon was reportedly planning to invade Tajikistan and consulted the Taliban Islamic Movement for operational guidance.

Manpower and recruitment

Much of them are the children and relatives of the original generation of fighters. Other reports indicate it has less than 100 fighters. Ansarullah also recruits from Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Central Asia, and Russia. The individual who perpetrated the 2010 suicide bombing of a police station in Khujand was reported to have been trained in an al-Qaeda training camp.

Actions

The Tajik Taliban has operated out of northern Afghanistan since its founding receiving support from the Taliban and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. The group currently serves as border guards in northern Badakhshan Province, being responsible for handling security by the

Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

for Kuf Ab, Khwahan, Maimay, Nusay, and Shekay. They also control

Jawand Jawand (also romanized as Javand) is a town and the capital of Jawand District, in Badghis Province, Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlock ...

and Ab Kamari in

Badghis Province Bādghīs (Dari: ) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northwest of the country, on the border with Turkmenistan. It is considered to be one of the country's most underdeveloped provinces, with the highest poverty r ...

. After building the watch tower, Tajikistan began taking the group seriously. The group spray painted "Mehdi Arsalon" in Badakhshan, Afghanistan, in a large font, which was visible from Tajikistan's autonomous Gorno-Badakhshan region. Tajikistani Taliban members and supporters, all of which are Tajik citizens, walked demonstratively along the Afghan side of the Panj River that separates Afghanistan and Tajikistan. It was reported that they came almost every day to their watch tower and yell threats with a loudspeaker insulting the Tajikistani authorities. Tensions were already high with the Afghan Taliban and Tajikistan due to Tajikistan supporting the Northern Alliance and the NRF, and Tajikistani authorities stated that the Taliban allowing the group to stay active and threaten Tajikistan increases distrust and makes them feel threatened, although the Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a speech that no threats will be made from Afghanistan to any neighboring countries, and that it was a case of a warlord abusing his power, and he called on Tajik government to cooperate with them to tackle the issue.

Aims and objectives

The group aims to overthrow the current Tajik government and replace it with an Islamic state governed by Sharia law. In 2011, it issued a series of videos stating that Muslims who observed Salah and fasted but still supported democracy were infidels, and that God is killing unbelievers through them, therefore, they are blessed.

Ideology

The organisation along with other jihadist groups such as the

Afghan Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

, Pakistani Taliban,

Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

and the Turkistan Islamic Party had similar motivations and goals. The organisation aims to spread

Islamic extremism Islamic extremism, Islamist extremism, or radical Islam, is used in reference to extremist beliefs and behaviors which are associated with the Islamic religion. These are controversial terms with varying definitions, ranging from academic unde ...

to enforce

-style

fundamentalist Islam Islamic fundamentalism has been defined as a puritanical, revivalist, and reform movement of Muslims who aim to return to the founding scriptures of Islam. Islamic fundamentalists are of the view that Muslim-majority countries should return t ...

and

Sharia law Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the Five Pillars of Islam, religious precepts of Islam and is based on the Islamic holy books, sacred scriptures o ...

in Tajikistan and turn Tajikistan into an Islamic Emirate similar to Afghanistan.

References

{{Reflist 2006 establishments in Afghanistan Anti-Iranian sentiments Anti-communist terrorism Deobandi Deobandis Far-right politics in Asia Theocrats Organizations designated as terrorist by Tajikistan