As Gandhara reported on 22 June 2021, after overcoming Afghan government troops, the Taliban took control of a border crossing to Tajikistan situated some 50 kilometers north of the capital of Kunduz Province. World Watch Research analyst Thomas Muller comments: "The Taliban has made surprisingly fast and vast territorial gains in recent weeks, taking control of more than 80 districts which had either been in the government"s hands or contested (Long War Journal, 29 June 2021). While the bulk of this territorial advance may still be explained by the rural character of the districts and by the Afghan Army"s tactic of consolidating battle lines, the speed of this development is remarkable. It is also particularly worrying how the Long War Journal reports that the government is arming ethnic militias "˜to bolster the security forces". This is how civil wars are started." Thomas Muller continues: "By taking control of the Tajikistan border crossing - a key supply route from Central Asia -‚  the Taliban is sending out its strongest signal yet about who will be in charge of the country in the near future: Not only does it mean that the Afghan state loses at least 320,000 USD per day from taxes and excise duty, it also shows that the Taliban is establishing itself in the north, which had previously never been a Taliban stronghold. Despite all claims to the contrary, the Taliban continue to receive decisive support from Pakistani volunteers with officials doing very little to restrict this, according to Gandhara reporting on 21 June 2021. But if the Taliban get too strong in Afghanistan, Pakistan"s long-standing policy of trying to distinguish between "˜good" and "˜bad" Taliban groups may become impossible." Thomas Muller concludes: "As a sign that they are here to stay, the Taliban"s deputy emir has been issuing a series of guidelines advising Taliban fighters how to run a civilian government (Long War Journal, 25 June 2021). Although the significance of both the territorial advance and such guidelines should not be overstated, Afghanistan faces a very uncertain future and this is even truer for its religious minorities, including Christians."