DUSHANBE, January 12, 2013, Asia-Plus  -- The Tajik authorities are concerned over the partial withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan that will take place next year, Khudoberdi Kholiqnazarov, the first deputy director of the Center for Strategic Studies under the President of Tajikistan, announced at a news conference in Dushanbe on January 11.

“We all are concerned about what will happen after the partial withdrawal of the U.S. troops from Afghanistan in 2014,” the senior expert from Tajik think tank noted.

He noted that under an agreement on strategic partnership between Afghanistan and the United States, enough NATO troops would remain in Afghanistan.

According to Kholiqnazarov, the U.S.-Afghan partnership is expected to provide for several thousand U.S. troops to stay and train Afghan forces and help with counter-terrorism operations.

“Our government realizes that even after the partial withdrawal of the coalition forces from Afghanistan the situation on the Tajik-Afghan border may change,” said Kholiqnazarov.  “Infiltration of various forces, especially the Taliban of Central Asian origin, poses a serious threat to our country,” said the senior expert.  “In this connection, adequate measures are being taken to prevent such infiltrations.”