By Bruce Pannier Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty November 18, 2021 When the Taliban seized control of most of Afghanistan in mid-August, one of the inevitable ripple effects was going to be a crackdown on suspect Islamic groups in the Central Asian states north of Afghanistan. Uzbekistan has emerged as the Central Asian country most actively engaging with the
By Mansur Mirovalev Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty November 4, 2021 TASHKENT — Sergei grew up in Namangan, the eastern Uzbek city where Islamic traditions persisted despite decades of atheist Soviet rule. As a young communist in high school in the 1980s, Sergei was ordered to a nearby bazaar to forcibly remove burqas — known locally as
DW: Rights groups say hundreds of Afghans fled to neighboring Uzbekistan to escape the Taliban. But, without official refugee status in the Central Asian country, they are vulnerable and could face deportation. Click here to read more (external link).
Bruce Pannier Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty November 2, 2021 Building a natural-gas pipeline through Afghanistan and Pakistan to India (TAPI) was the main topic of conversation when Turkmen Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov went to Kabul to meet with the Taliban’s interim government on October 30-31. Since coming to power 15 years ago, Turkmen President Gurbanguly
Navbahor Imamova VOA News October 29, 2021 TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN — Central Asian republics are stepping up their diplomatic activity in the face of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, seeking to balance fears of increased extremist activity in the region against the risk of an economic collapse that could send refugees flooding across their borders. Three of
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty October 20, 2021 Russia is hosting a high-level Taliban delegation for talks attended by officials from China, Pakistan, and eight other countries, as Moscow seeks to assert its influence on Central Asia amid worries about instability or violence spilling from Afghanistan into the region. The October 20 conference in Moscow is
Lisa Schlein VOA News October 17, 2021 GENEVA — The United Nations refugee agency says the first of three emergency airlifts of relief supplies for Afghanistan that landed in Termez, Uzbekistan, Friday will be followed by two more flights this week. With Afghan airports closed to commercial traffic, the U.N. refugee agency has diverted flights to
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty October 15, 2021 Russian President Vladimir Putin on October 15 said the Islamic State (IS) militant group has thousands of fighters in northern Afghanistan, as Moscow prepares to host international talks next week on the situation in the country. “According to our intelligence, the number of (IS) members alone in northern
Bruce Pannier Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty October 9, 2021 Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov just visited Uzbekistan for talks with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev and, even though the two leaders have met several times recently, it was important for them — and only them — to sit down to discuss the number one topic in the
By RFE/RL’s Tajik Service October 1, 2021 Russia has urged Tajikistan and Taliban-ruled Afghanistan to take “mutually acceptable measures” to resolve tensions along the Tajik-Afghan border amid reports of an increased military build-up on both sides. Tajik President Emomali Rahmon has refused to recognize the Taliban-led government and condemned the militant group for alleged human rights