Imangali Tasmagambetov, the secretary-general of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) said on Wednesday that Afghanistan continues to be a source of serious challenges and threats for the member states of the organisation.

Tasmagambetov said that at the meeting in Kazakhstan, the plan to secure Tajikistan's border with Afghanistan will be discussed. The CSTO summit will be held on Thursday, November 28, in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.

"One of the important documents presented for review is the CSTO's proposed plan to strengthen the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border," Tasmagambetov told TASS news agency.

"Afghanistan continues to be a source of serious challenges and threats to collective security, and this set of proposed measures is intended to increase the level of protection of the organisation's member states," he noted.

The Astana meeting will discuss the military and political situation in the member states of the Collective Security Treaty and within their borders.

These countries are seeking to create a security belt on the Afghan border. Preventing drug trafficking and the infiltration of terrorists into Central Asian countries is one of the goals of this security belt. The plan comes as Chinese citizens were recently targeted by gunmen on the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border. At least one Chinese man was killed and four others were wounded in the attack.

Some sources said that the attackers attacked from Afghan soil and returned to their shelter.
Russia, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia and Belarus are permanent members of the CSTO.