March 1
– President Emomali Rahmon received visiting IFRC Secretary General Bekele Geleta. Cooperation between the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the Government of Tajikistan in preventing disasters and mitigating their effects was the focus of the meeting.
March 2
– Four Tajik women accused of belonging to the banned Islamic movement Jamaat at-Tabligh were released from detention as the authorities could not prove any connection between the four women and Jamaat ut-Tabligh or any other extremist organization, RFE/RL”s Tajik Service reported on March 4. They were detained last year and accused of extremist activities and membership of the banned Islamic party Jamaat ut-Tabligh. The women, aged between 23 and 37 years, reside in the southern Khatlon province. According to the authorities the detained women are suspected of distributing antigovernment leaflets on behalf of a banned Islamic movement and of attempting to create a religious movement called Masturot (an Arabic word meaning “hidden” or “closed”). Officials say the women”s husbands are all serving prison terms for their membership of Jamaat ut-Tabligh.
March 2
– Afghan national was detained with a large amount of narcotics in Farkhor district, Khatlon province. More than 36 kilograms of narcotics were confiscated from him. A totaled included 34.5 kilograms of marijuana and 1.68 kilograms of heroin;
– In a statement released at a news conference in Dushanbe, the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s team head Todd Schneider noted the IMF mission advises the Tajik authorities to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the country’s tax policy regime in order to further strengthen prospects for private sector growth. According to him, the country should create tax climate that would be able to promote development of private sector.
March 3-5
– The second round of negotiations between Tajikistan and Russia on control of the Tajik-Afghan border and a new draft agreement on border control cooperation was held in Dushanbe.
March 3-8
– An exhibition dedicated to the Day of the Mother that is marked in Tajikistan on March 8 was held at the Kokhi Vahdat State Complex in Dushanbe. Fifteen Iranian companies and Tajik producers put on display their products (gift sets for women, perfumery, clothes, souvenirs, and home appliances) at the fair that is lasting for five days.
March 4
– A court in Dushanbe’s Sino district resumed hearing over lawsuit filed by three judges against three Dushanbe independent newspapers
Ozodagon
,
Farazh
, and
Asia-Plus.
Three judges from the Tajik Supreme Court and a Dushanbe court filed lawsuits against
Ozodagon
,
Farazh
, and
Asia
-Plus
on January 29, 2010. The judges said the printed quotations in their most recent editions from a press conference in which lawyer Solehjon Jourayev accused the judges of issuing unfair punishments. In early January 2010, Jourayev invited journalists to a press conference at which he said Judges Fakhriddin Dodometov, Nour Nourov, and Ulughbek Mahmadshoyev had sentenced a group of 33 businessmen from the northern city of Isfara to long prison sentences despite weak evidence of their crimes. The judges said on January 29 the newspapers did not ask them to comment and printed biased statements that have no basis. They asked for 5.5 million somoni ($1.26 million) as compensation for the moral damage caused by the comments in the articles;
– A newspaper aimed at Central Asian labor migrants debuted in the Russian city of St. Petersburg. It will come out twice a month in three languages: Russian, Uzbek, and Tajik.
March 7
– Tajik authorities opened an investigation into the death of Dushanbe resident Safarali Sangov whose relatives say was beaten and taken from his house by plainclothes officers on March 1. Safarali Sangov, 37, died on March 5. Police say Sangov, who they suspected of drugs possession, tried to commit suicide by jumping out of a first-floor window during his interrogation at a Dushanbe police station;
– A 15-year-old teenager from Sarband, Khatlon province was seriously wounded after a shell for antitank grenade launcher exploded in his hands. The shell exploded when the teenager tried to dismantle it.
March 7-10
– Rahmon paid a state visit to Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari On March 8, President Rahmon met with Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani. The meeting followed the signing of a comprehensive Joint Declaration, covering all areas of cooperation. The two sides also signed bilateral agreements to enhance cooperation between Pakistan and Tajikistan in the areas of food, agriculture, health and sports. On March 9-10, President Emomali Rahmon visited Karachi, which is commercial and industrial hub of Pakistan. On Wednesday March 9, Sindh Governor Dr. Ishrat Ul Ebad Khan held a dinner for Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and members of his delegation at the Governor House in Karachi. In Karachi, President Rahmon attended the Tajikistan-Business Forum that was organized by the members of trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) and their counterparts in Tajikistan. Before leaving for Dushanbe, President Rahmon attended a ceremony of opening of the Consulate General of Tajikistan in Karachi.
March 8
– A shell-less explosive device reportedly detonated outside the Lesnaya Skazka Restaurant in Dushanbe. The blast was sufficiently powerful that it blew out the windows of the nearby apartment building. A teenager reportedly sustained slight wounds in the explosion;
– Eleven residents of the northern Sughd province were sentenced to different jail terms for membership in the outlawed extremist religious group Hizb ut-Tahrir.
March 10
– 29 kilograms of hashish were intercepted in the Isfisor jamoat, Bobojonghafurov district on March 10. Police officers found hashish when searching Mercedes belonging to local resident, F.G.;
– Officers from the Customs Service’s office for Sughd province prevented an attempt of smuggling 7,228 kilograms of sulfuric acid into Tajikistan. Sulfuric acid is listed as a precursor used in the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances.
March 11
– President Rahmon received visiting Inter RAO YeES CEO Boris Kovalchuk. They discussed issues related to cooperation between Inter RAO YeES, operation of the Sangtuda-1 hydroelectric power plant (HPP) in Tajikistan and electricity deliveries to Afghanistan and Pakistan;
March 14 –
Tajikistan”s railroad company has suspended trains traveling from Dushanbe to the northern city of Konibodom. The shutting down of the route is due to a lack of passengers, long delays when the train transits a part of Uzbekistan, and the completion of improvements to a highway to Khujand.
March 14-17
– The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha and Russia’s Security Council Deputy Secretary Yuri Zubakov heading delegations of the CSTO and Russia’s Security Council visit Tajikistan. A two-day regional meeting of the Security Council secretaries from the CSTO member nations took place in the Tajik northern city of Qairoqqum on March 14-15. A meeting of the CSTO Working Group on Afghanistan was held in Dushanbe on March 16-17 The CSTO groups Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. All members except for Uzbekistan sent representatives to Dushanbe.
March 15
– President Rahmon met with Mr. Pierre Morel, the European Union Special Representative for Central Asia. Morel headed a working group composed of members of the joint EU-Tajik Council on cooperation that arrived in Dushanbe to discuss regional border security, dialogue on the use of water resources, and cooperation between the EU and Tajikistan in such spheres as health, social security, small business development, and human rights;
– The European Union Special Representative for Central Asia Pierre Morel met with General Sharaf Fayzulloev, deputy commander of Tajikistan”s border guard forces.
March 15-16
– A conference of the Central Asia Border Security Initiative (CABSI) to discuss border security and cross-border cooperation in Central Asia took place in Dushanbe. The conference brought together national counterparts from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, EU Member states’ representatives, high-level representatives of the European Commission, European Union Delegations’ Heads in Central Asia, members of the international donor community and agencies involved in border security technical assistance, such as the OSCE, UNODC, IOM, the Russian Federation, the United States, China, Japan and other stakeholders to share best practices and coordinate efforts.
March 16
– The Cooperation Committee between the European Union (EU) and Tajikistan held its first meeting in Dushanbe. The EU was represented by Mr. Gunnar Wiegand, Director of Russia, Eastern Neighborhood, Central Asia and OSCE, European External Action Service. The Tajik delegation was led by Mr. Saidrahmon Nazriyev, Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade. The Cooperation Committee held an in-depth discussion on the issues of macroeconomic developments, including public and private investments, as well as sectoral developments and trade issues.
Marc 16-17
– Consultations between heads of appropriate subdivisions within the foreign ministries of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia and Tajikistan to consider the draft agenda of the upcoming meeting of leaders of these nations was held in Dushanbe. The sides discussed prospects of further expansion of cooperation between Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia and Tajikistan in strengthening regional security and promoting regional trade. They also considered issues related to creation of favorable investment climate and holding of conferences with participation of representatives of the business communities of the four nations.
March 17
– Captain Parviz Mullojonov, 29, investigator with the police station in Dushanbe’s Shohmansour district, was found dead with a single bullet wound to his head in his office. According to Tajik law enforcement authorities, is not clear yet whether it was suicide or murder. The Shohmansour prosecutor’s office is investigating the incident.
March 18-19
– A joint meeting of the CIS Council for Humanitarian Cooperation, the Board of the Interstate Fund for Humanitarian Cooperation (IFHC) and the CIS Coordination Council of Heads of Bodies of Sectoral Cooperation was held in Dushanbe. An expert workshop on educational aspects of intercultural dialogues took place on the sidelines of the joint meeting.
March 19
– President Rahmon held a traditional meeting with representatives of the intelligentsia on occasion of the Navrouz.
March 21
– Tajikistan celebrated Navrouz.
March 21-22
– The World Chess Federation (FIDE) President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov visited Tajikistan to discuss with Tajik state officials issues related to construction of the Chess Development Center in Tajikistan.
March 23-27
– A festival showcasing Iranian culture took place in Tajikistan. As part of the “Days of Culture of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” a 120-person Iranian delegation headed by Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Seyed Mohammad Hosseini was in Tajikistan.
March 24-26
– President visited Sughd province. The president inaugurated a number of new facilities in northern Tajikistan.
March 26
– Tajik capital joined events to celebrate Earth Hour and turned off street lighting and illumination of advertising structures for one hour, from 8:30 p to 9:30 pm, to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change.
March 26-27
– President Rahmon visited Iran to attend Navrouz celebrations. In Tehran, he held a number of bilateral meetings.
March 27-31
– Prince Rahim Aga Khan, eldest son of His Highness the Aga Khan, founder and Chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), visited Tajikistan. During the visit, Prince Rahim reviewed AKDN programs, including microfinance projects.
March 29
– Some 100 kilograms of various narcotics, including heroin, raw opium and hashish, were found hidden in a storehouse of the food shop, Sabina, in Dushanbe’s neighborhood # 82. Narcotics were reportedly transported to Dushanbe from one of districts in Khatlon province.
March 30
– A trial of eleven fugitives from an August 2010 mass jailbreak and several their accomplices began in the Supreme Court.
