DUSHANBE, April 22, 2016, Asia-Plus — Bakhtiyor Langariyev, the son of a legendary former commander of the pro-government Popular Front Salmon Langariyev and the brother of one of the main commanders of the Popular Front Langari Langariyev, has got a position in the Ministry of Defense (MoD).
An official source at a MoD says Bakhtiyor Langariyev was appointed to head one of departments at the Organization-Mobilization Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Tajikistan.
According to him, Colonel Bakhtiyor Langariyev was appointed to that position in February this year.
We will recall that Bakhtiyor Langariyev returned to Tajikistan in October 2015 after a seven-year absence. He left the country in 2008.
Bakhtiyor Langariyev had been chief of the Dushanbe organized crime control department. Before that, Colonel Bakhtiyor Langariyev had served as commander of the Tajik Interior Ministry”s special forces.
In May 2008, the Tajik Security Ministry arrested Salmon Langariyev”s youngest son, Suhrob, after a 16-hour gun battle at his home in Kulob that ended only when Salmon Langariyev persuaded his son to lay down his weapons. Suhrob Langariyev was subsequently charged with drug smuggling and illegal arms possession.
Bakhtiyor Langariyev left Tajikistan after Suhrob”s arrest.
Suhrob Langariyev had been subject of an international arrest warrant a full six years before his eventual arrest. All the same, he reportedly wandered in and out of Kulob without the slightest concern of being apprehended.
When he eventually was jailed, Suhrob Langariyev was sentenced to life in prison along with Nourmahmad Safarov, the son of the leader of the Popular Front Sangak Safarov. Yet another person arrested with Suhrob Langariyev was his nephew, the son of Langari Langariyev — then 24-year old Azam Langariyev. Azam Langariyev was sentenced to 21 years in prison.
Salmon Langariyev, a legendary former commander of the Popular Front’s militia, died in Kulob on March 30, 2010 at the age of 84.
Salmon Langariyev, also known as “Grandfather Salmon,” was a retired prison guard who joined the military at the start of Tajikistan”s 1992 civil war.
His late eldest son, Langari Langariyev, a former police officer, was one of the main commanders of the pro-government Popular Front. He died of combat wounds in Khujand in 1993.
Another son, Major-General Fayzali Langariyev, now heads the Central Committee of Assistance to Defense.
Ms. Jamila Langariyeva, the daughter of Salmon Langariyev, was appointed Deputy Mayor of Dushanbe in April last year, replacing Ms. Ruqiya Qurbonova, who was retired for age reasons. Before that, Jamilya Langariyeva worked as deputy rector of the Tajik State Medical University.
