The interagency commission in charge of providing law and order in the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) says eleven of twenty-one persons wanted by police on suspicion of committing crimes in the region have voluntarily surrendered to local law enforcement authorities. Among them are Akimbek Akimbekov, Komron Bozorov, Firouz Mirzoyev, Poulod Sheikhov, Rustambek Karimbekov, Shertan Nekqadamov, Shogharib Boliyev, Nekrouz Khudonazarov, Hamid Sharif and Mizaffar Davlatqadamov.
According to the GBAO interagency commission, 136 weapons have been volunteered by October 12. A totaled included 57 Kalashnikov assailant rifles, two submachine guns, two grenade launchers, 27 pistols, 8 carbines, 29 smooth-bore guns, one anti-aircraft system and 500 grams of TNT.
At the same time, the commission notes that some groups in the region still have a large amount of weapons and calls on them to hand over them to law enforcement authorities by October 15.
A statement released by the interagency commission, in particular, notes that no operations will be carried out against civilian population.
The commission calls on the GBAO residents “not to succumb to provocations and false information spread by leaders of criminal groups.”
The commission, however, stresses that severe measures will be taken against persons illegally possessing weapons and not obeying traffic police instructions at checkpoints.
The GBAO interagency commission was set up on September 15. Its members include representatives of power-wielding structures and leadership of the region.
Recall, the process of voluntary surrender of weapons has begun after the visit of the president to the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region that took place in mid-September. The head of state harshly criticized the work of local law enforcement authorities and gave them one-month deadline to address the situation in the region, especially in Khorog, and implied that more robust measures could be adopted if he was dissatisfied with the results. Rahmon said without naming them that around five or six “criminals” were at the root of the region’s ills.
A range of personnel changes were made in the region. By president’s decree chairperson of the GBAO regional court, chief of GBAO police, chief of Khorog traffic police department as well as heads of Khorog and Shugnan and Roshtqala districts were fired.
The governor of GBAO, Shodikhon Jamshed, managed to hold onto his post until October 1, when he was replaced by Yodgor Fayzov.
