TAJIKISTAN PART 2 PEEKING INTO AFGHANISTAN
I’d been somewhat anxious about The Khargush Pass Military Checkpoint for a while. Situated near the isolated Khargush Pass (4,344 metres), on the Tajik side of the border with Afghanistan, I’d read of foreigners being harassed by soldiers at this remote military checkpoint.
A Belgian cyclist was robbed with a gun to his cheek here; this by the very soldiers who were supposed to be clearing him safely through the checkpoint!
Fortunately, we’re benefiting from a recent strong drive across Central Asia to embrace tourism and hence tourists. In just the past couple of years alone most countries in Central Asia (perhaps except Turkmenistan) have taken significant steps to open up and combat the worst types of corrupt and/or intimidating behaviour that has sometimes occurred in the past.
From a visitor’s perspective at least, it appears to be working well – we generally haven’t experienced too many issues. There were a couple of efforts to extort us in Mongolia, many dodgy police in Kyrgyzstan (likely in Kazakhstan too, though they were always busy with another victim when we came along). And there was the attempt to levy a fake tax on us upon entering Tajikistan.
However, I’m pleased to report we encountered no issues whatsoever at the Khargush Pass military checkpoint, notwithstanding its intimidating reputation. Just one soldier attended to us, and unusually he was unarmed. I wondered if this was
