VZCZCXRO0558
RR RUEHLN RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHDBU #1595/01 3111644
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 071644Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1287
INFO RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 2312
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 2288
RUEHPW/AMCONSUL PESHAWAR 0066
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 2009
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEHDBU/AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE 3196

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 DUSHANBE 001595 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SCA/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON PGOV SOCI ELTN TI
SUBJECT: THE ROAD TO KHOROG: THE TAJIK/AFGHAN BORDER 
 
REF: A: DUSHANBE 1466; B: DUSHANBE 1460 
 
DUSHANBE 00001595  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  The 1,344-kilometer Tajik-Afghan border is 
known for narcotics trafficking, unrelenting mountains, and as a 
boundary between the former Soviet Union and South Asia. 
EmbOffs traveled two-thirds of the remote Tajik-Afghan border in 
the eastern part of the country, finding poverty-stricken 
villages, emergent interaction between the two countries, and a 
developing western route for Chinese goods.  End Summary. 
 
Bumming Cigarettes on the Afghan Border 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
--------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) The road from Khirmanjo to Langar follows the Nizhny 
Pyanj river 559 km along the Tajik-Afghan border.  Steep 
mountains of brown and gray yield to a narrow fertile valley on 
either side of the river, where dozens of green villages 25-75 
meters in width cling to the river's edge.  Three Aga Khan 
Development Network-funded bridges at Khailakhum, Tem, and 
Ishkashim, span the river. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The Pyanj river, which flows south into the Amu Darya 
river, presents a formidable barrier in many places, while in 
other areas the gentle flow could be easily crossed.  Signs 
cautioning passers-by of mines populate the Tajik side of the 
river, although the exact minefield locations are unknown as 
numerous mudslides have made precise determinations impossible. 
Several border posts dot the Pyanj, and border guards patrol the 
road every few kilometers in some areas, while leaving other 
spots less guarded.  Many border guards look smart in their 
U.S.-provided uniforms and boots, stopping vehicles for 
contributions and bumming for cigarettes, while others patrol in 
frayed uniforms.  The one-lane road itself ranges from 
smoothly-paved asphalt or bumpy pavement to pockmarked gravel on 
precarious mountain edges.  On the Afghan side of the river, 
Afghans with goods-laden donkeys travel a thin path that clings 
to the side of the mountain.  On both sides, few roads lead away 
from the river. 
 
¶4. (U) The Saturday cross-border markets at Darvaz, Tem (near 
Khorog), and Ishkashim are a weekly highlight for nearby 
villages, and EconOffs were disappointed to find the border 
crossings closed due to the CIS and Eurasec summits taking place 
in Dushanbe.  According to local Tajiks, Afghans bring small 
agricultural products, and some Iranian goods such as rice, to 
trade at the market.  Others have described the markets as 
Afghans and Tajiks trading Chinese goods. 
 
¶5. (U) The Aga Khan Foundation has active development projects 
throughout eastern Tajikistan, where the major population are 
Ismaili Shia Muslims - followers of the Aga Khan.  The Aga Khan 
Development Network is building a $1 million 150-meter bridge at 
Vansh, and plans to build a $500,000 40-meter bridge at Langar, 
east of Ishkashim, and a $1.5 million 250-meter bridge at Shagon 
near Khirmanjo. 
 
Zing 
------- 
 
¶6. (U) In the Tajik mountain village of Zing just downstream 
from the Darvaz border crossing, 165 families survive on 
remittance income from family members working in Russia, 
pensions, and family gardens.  A shiny mausoleum marks the 
entrance to the pomegranate and apple tree-lined road. 
Residents often live over 90 years in this mountain town known 
for its honey sold in two-liter bottles.  Across the river from 
Zing, Afghans transport goods via donkey along the mountain path 
to their houses the same shade of brown as the dirt.  The Afghan 
side is within throwing distance of Tajikistan, and EmbOffs 
watched as an agile Afghan boy clambered off the thin mountain 
path to retrieve sticks for firewood from further down the 
mountain. 
 
¶7. (U) Nestled in the mountainous center of the country, Zing 
receives electricity from the state-owned utility Barqi Tojik in 
the west and is on a strict rationing regime.  Orion Bank is 
providing the credit for a 1-2 kW mini hydropower plant that 
will help provide more reliable power to the village.  Water 
flows freely down the mountain, and spring floods often wash 
large rocks and gravel out onto the road.  The town lacks a 
water supply system, and a local resident, Hairullo, showed 
EconOffs the hundreds of meters of plastic pipe he bought that 
carry water from the nearest source. 
 
 
DUSHANBE 00001595  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
The Road to China 
------------------------ 
 
¶8. (U) Chinese trucks rumble along the winding roads between 
Khorog and Darvaz shipping goods from the Kulma Pass north of 
Darvaz.  During summer months, the Kulma Pass border crossing 
operates 15 days on, 15 days off.  The trucks carry construction 
equipment for the Chinese-funded road projects connecting 
Dushanbe and Osh, or Dushanbe and Khujand.  They also carry 
consumer goods for local markets.  Most of the trucks return to 
China empty. 
 
¶9. (U) EconOffs could not find a single Chinese trucker who 
spoke Russian, Tajik, or English, and the Chinese appear to keep 
to themselves while traveling - bringing their own food and 
sleeping in their trucks along the side of the road.  Some 
trucks transferred their goods to smaller Tajik Kamaz trucks at 
the customs terminal in Khorog.  Despite the existence of a 
small truck terminal in Murgab, most of the trucks pass through 
Murgab, discharge their goods in Khorog, and only return to 
Murgab with a few leftovers - leaving the markets in Murghab 
very sparse and almost totally dependant on shipments from 
Kyrgyzstan (Ref A). 
 
¶10. (U) The road itself is fairly treacherous, except for a 30 
km stretch of newly finished Turkish asphalt west of Darvaz. 
One Chinese truck's cargo had fallen off the mountain on a steep 
curve, blocking the road for several hours.  The Tajik Ministry 
of Transportation reports that China is interested in helping to 
rebuild the road all the way from the Chinese border to Shagon 
but has not yet found funding for the project. 
 
Khorog 
--------- 
 
¶11. (U) The capital of Gorno-Badakhshan, Khorog, is an energetic 
mountain town, reminiscent of Boulder, Colorado, with two 
universities, and a relatively educated population.  Officially 
home to 20,000 people, but unofficially 50,000, Khorog's local 
Pamiri population engages in small trade and light industry. 
The accredited but poor Khorog State University now competes 
with the startup Aga Khan-funded University of Central Asia 
which teaches 300 local residents English, accounting, 
management and computer courses. 
 
¶12. (U) Thanks to the Aga Khan Foundation, Pamir Energy keeps 
residents warm,the First MicroFinance Bank provides 
entrepreneurs with credit, and guests can stay at the 
comfortable Serena Hotel (Ref B).  Commercial flights keep 
Khorog connected with the rest of Tajikistan all year, except 
for frequent weather delays. 
 
¶13. (U) Meat, chicken, eggs, wheat, and rice are imported from 
China and Iran, as well as cement and building materials from 
China.  Chinese traders are interested in buying some of the 
high-quality honey from the region, but local residents do not 
yet produce honey in quantities that would make the transactions 
worthwhile for the Chinese mega-market. 
 
¶14. (U) The Gorno-Badakhshan region is officially autonomous, 
and the Tajik government requires international visitors to 
obtain a special permit to visit.  Local residents told EmbOffs 
that the central government takes the revenues from these 
permits and hunting licenses and provides little to local 
residents.  Tourism is a decidedly viable prospect here, where 
aside from Marco Polo sheep, the austere beauty of Khorog and 
the region could capture the imagination of world travelers. 
 
Ishkashim to Langar - The Deep South 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶15. (U) Driving south from Khorog, the sprawling, wind-whipped 
Pyanj river valley dominates the northern edge of the Wakhan 
corridor from Ishkashim to Langar.  Views of the Afghan Hindu 
Kush with its glaciers and Great Game-era earthen forts dot the 
landscape along the Tajik side of the border.  Originally 
designed to separate two empires from encroaching on each 
other's zones of influence, crossing from Afghanistan to 
Tajikistan seems as easy as wading across sand bars in some 
areas.  EmbOffs even saw small minivans in the very rockiest 
areas of the river valley, so vehicular traffic is possible 
straight up to the river in some parts. 
 
¶16. (U) Ismaili-Shia shrines, topped with the horns of 
 
DUSHANBE 00001595  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
endangered Marco Polo sheep, and old water springs framed by 
dilapidated Soviet mosaics dot the landscapes.  Vehicular 
traffic is at a minimum in these parts with the roads mostly 
punctuated by herders and the intermittent patrol of border 
guards, with or without weapons.  Several large trucks were 
stuck in the drifted sand, blocking the roads in some areas. 
 
¶17. (U) This area is known as one of the poorest in 
Gorno-Badakhshan, and the predominant activity along this 
stretch of the border was the harvesting of wheat crops, with 
the low land on both sides of the border road yielding 
surprisingly high amounts of arable land.  There were a 
strikingly high number of male laborers in the field compared to 
villages in other parts of Tajikistan, where fields are 
dominated by female laborers.  Most seemed ecstatic to receive a 
wave and a smile from far-too-infrequent passersby. 
 
¶18. (U) Past Langar, at the confluence of the Pamir and Wakhan 
rivers, the border road turns northward and ascends steeply 
through a barren, treeless landscape towards the Khargush pass, 
ultimately linking up with the Khorog-Murgab road.  The only 
sign of life on this 108 km stretch were the two conscript 
border guards at the Khargush checkpoint, rousted from their 
evening meal.  Rusting construction equipment, abandoned border 
towers and evidence of massive landslides completed the scene in 
this deserted corner of Tajikistan. 
JACOBSON