By November 1, Tajikistan has reached 91 percent of the autumn conscription campaign target, Faridoun Mahmadalizoda, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense (MoD), said.

In the territorial cross section the percentage the target reached was: Gorno Badakhshan – 100 percent; Khatlon – 96 percent; Sughd – 94 percent; districts subordinate to the center (RRPs) – 81 percent; and Dushanbe – 81 percent.

The autumn conscription campaign is carried out from October 1 through November, and the draft affects able-bodied male citizens in the age bracket of 18 years old to 27 years old who are not members of the armed forces reserve.

According to the Ministry of Defense (MoD), every year, some 15,000-16,000 young Tajik men are drafted into the country’s armed forces.  The two-month-long effort seeking to enlist young men aged 18-27 for the two-year compulsory military service takes place twice a year, in the spring and in the autumn.

Some sources say more than 600,000 young men in Tajikistan are eligible for military service, but some 150,000 of them have received draft deferments or are exempted from the military service and some 100,000 other conscript-age young Tajiks are outside the country in search of a living.

Young Tajiks can avoid or postpone military service if they are ill, studying at university, an only son, or if they have two children.

Tajikistan’s armed forces consist of Ground Forces, Mobile Forces (paratroopers of the armed forces of Tajikistan), Air Force and Air Defense Force.