DUSHANBE , July 6, Asia -Plus -- The U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is expected to pay visit to Tajikistan next week, Asia-Plus has learned from reliable sources.  

Rumsfeld may possibly arrive in Dushanbe on following Monday, according to the source.  Meanwhile, official sources neither confirm nor deny this information.  

The source the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe says, “The U.S. Embassy does not have information about the visit of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to Tajikistan .” 

The Tajik Ministry of Defense (MoD) also says they have not received any information about Rumsfeld’s visit to the country.  

We will recall that the U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld visited Tajikistan in July last year.  During his stay in Dushanbe Rumsfeld met with President Rahmonov and other high-ranking Tajik state officials.  Countering the flow of narcotics from Afghanistan , protection of the Tajik-Afghan border as well as issues related to post-war reconstruction of Afghanistan ’s economy figured prominently in Rumsfeld’s discussion with Tajik officials.