Latest Articles about Central Asia

KAZAKH SECURITY SERVICES TRUMPET VICTORY OVER “AL-QAEDA MEMBERS”

The National Security Committee (KNB) has announced a major coup in its anti-terrorist operations. In a televised interview, the first deputy director of the National Security Committee, Vladimir Bozhko, disclosed that the security services have uprooted a network of al-Qaeda terrorist operatives in Kazakhstan. He... MORE

TAJIK BORDER GUARDS TAKING OVER THE TAJIK-AFGHAN BORDER

On November 16, Russian border troops began the handover of sections of the Tajik-Afghan border to Tajikistan's border guards. The handover is regulated by the intergovernmental agreements on Cooperation on Border Protection and On Procedures for the Transfer of Border Units and their Property, signed... MORE

KAZAKHSTAN-INDIA RELATIONS: PARTNERS OR DISTANT FRIENDS?

During the last week of October, about 400 local workers employed by Punj Lloyd Kazakhstan to construct a $40 million sulfur and gas-separating facility for TengizChevroil went on strike to protest their miserable wages. Workers complained that the Indian executives of the company had cut... MORE

KYRGYZ INTELLIGENCE ASSESS COUNTER-TERRORIST PRIORITIES

Kyrgyzstan's intelligence services remain vigilant regarding the threat posed by Islamic terrorists ranging from the IMU to al-Qaeda, although they often use the legitimate security concerns posed by international terrorism to mask political repression. However, there is growing recognition of the futility of placing hopes... MORE

MERCHANTS PROTEST NEW BANKING LAWS IN UZBEKISTAN

Mass riots have rocked the city of Khokand located in Uzbekistan's Fergana Valley. The riots started after a government decree on toughening trade regulations, which was issued in August, went into effect on November 1, 2004. The new regulations make it mandatory for every merchant... MORE

TURKMENISTAN’S NEUTRALITY AND RUSSIA’S NEW SOUTHERN POLICY

Turkmenistan's official foreign policy of "positive neutrality" is facing new challenges as Russia continues the drive for greater influence over Central Asian affairs. The Turkmen policy of neutrality, announced by President Saparmurat Niyazov shortly after the country became independent in 1991, has successfully enabled the... MORE

KAZAKHSTAN EXTRADITES SUSPECTED ISLAMIC MILITANT TO UZBEKISTAN

According to Kazakhstanskaya pravda, officials from the Committee for National Security (KNB) for South Kazakhstan blast extradited Odillkhon Mominov, a citizen of Uzbekistan, back to his homeland. Tashkent wanted Mominov "for his participation in illegal extremist religious organizations of the Wahhabite orientation." According to the... MORE

KAZAKHSTAN AND TATARSTAN UPGRADE BILATERAL BUSINESS CONTACTS

On October 28 the president of Tatarstan, Mintimir Shaimiev, met in Astana with Kazakhstan's president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, and prime minister, Danial Akhmetov. The leaders discussed ways to deepen bilateral trade and economic links. Kazakh leaders view Tatarstan as one of their most important trade partners... MORE

KAZAKHSTAN’S FUTURE COUNTER-TERRORIST AGENDA

Kazakhstan has positioned itself as a staunch supporter of the war on terror, not least in its steadfast commitment to peace support operations in Iraq through its deployment of KAZBAT. It deepened these credentials recently by hosting a conference in Almaty on measures of trust... MORE