Citizens of Central Asia who have joined militant groups in Afghanistan have worried governments in the region for years.
RFE/RL's Tajik Service, known locally as Ozodi, has reported that -- in some of the areas along Tajikistan's border with Afghanistan that were recently captured by the Taliban -- a militant group from Tajikistan, Jamaat Ansarullo, is now in charge.
There are also citizens of Uzbekistan, and even reportedly some from Turkmenistan, who are in the ranks of militant groups active in northern Afghanistan, some who are allied with the Taliban, some who are not.
On this week's Majlis podcast, RFE/RL media-relations manager Muhammad Tahir moderates a discussion on Central Asian citizens operating in northern Afghanistan, who they are, and from whom they take orders.
This week's guests are: from the United Kingdom, Antonio Giustozzi, a visiting professor at King's College in London who researches conflict and security; from Washington, Melanie Sadozai, a visiting scholar at George Washington University who was recently along the Tajik-Afghan border when the Taliban seized control in that area; from Prague, Salimjon Aioub, the director of Ozodi; and Bruce Pannier, the author of RFE/RL's Qishloq Ovozi blog.
Listen to the podcast above or subscribe to the Majlis on iTunes or on Google Podcasts.
