VOA News May 16, 2022 Navbahor Imamova WASHINGTON — In the two most recent U.S. presidential administrations, Central Asia has been caught up in Washington’s “strategic competition” with Beijing, experts say. And, they add, that under the presumption that Central Asians share Washington’s concerns, the United States, highlighting human rights violations in China’s western region of
Michael Hughes AOPNEWS May 13, 2022 Russian President Vladimir Putin and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon in a telephone conversation discussed the perceived boost in terrorist activity within Afghanistan’s borders and agreed to coordinate with neighboring states on a response to the threat. Several international leaders and diplomats have alleged the presence of violent extremist groups
By Abubakar Siddique Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty May 11, 2022 The ultraradical Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) group is trying to undermine the Taliban’s hard-line rule by launching attacks on neighboring countries from Afghanistan, analysts say. In the latest attack, IS-K claimed that it had fire rockets on unspecified targets inside Tajikistan from the northern Afghan province of
By RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service April 19, 2022 Uzbekistan has rejected claims by a regional affiliate of Islamic State that it carried out a rocket attack on the Central Asian nation from neighboring Afghanistan. The Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) said on April 18 that it had fired 10 rockets at an Uzbek military base in the border town
Jeff Seldin VOA News March 20, 2022 WASHINGTON — Intelligence agencies worldwide are warning that Taliban rule in Afghanistan is radically reshaping terrorist and militant groups in South Asia and around the world. Specifically, intelligence and counterterrorism officials say that despite Taliban promises to sever ties with al-Qaida and oppose terror groups such as the Islamic
By Farangis Najibullah Mustafa Sarwa February 16, 2022 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Afghanistan’s Taliban-led Defense Ministry has established several new military units in three border provinces in the country’s north, northeast, and west, deploying an estimated 4,400 additional troops in the region. The ministry said on February 14 that the Omar Salis division was officially launched
Ariana: The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) on Wednesday said in a statement there was no truth in allegations that Afghanistan was in any way involved in the recent unrest in Kazakhstan. Some media outlets have quoted Russian officials as saying that some individuals from Afghanistan also took part in the protests in Kazakhstan, read
Tolo News: Tajik President Emomali Rahmon during a meeting of the security council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) held via videoconference on Monday said Tajikistan will establish a security belt along its border with Afghanistan to deter insurgents’ threats emanating from Afghan soil. He said that according to Tajikistan’s special services estimates, over
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