A one-month deadline given by President Emomali Rahmon to the local authorities of the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) to address the situation in the region is over today.
A meeting of the GBAO regional administrators is taking place in Khorog, the capital of Gorno Badakhshan, today to discuss the implementation of the president’s instructions.
According to the GBAO regional administration, the meeting members include regional administrators, representatives of the Interior Ministry, the State Committee for National Security and the Prosecutor-General’s Office.
Recall, President Emomali Rahmon paid a working visit to the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region in mid-September.
On May 15, Rahmon 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.
Concerning troops brought to Khorog for a ceremonial parade, Emomali Rahmon indicated that even the military could be deployed.
He 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.
Meanwhile, an official source at the Interior Ministry’s office in GBAO says the current situation in the region is stable and the work on confiscation of illegally possessed weapons is under way. “We do not plan to carry out any large-scale operation against criminal groups,” he added.
A source at the Ministry of Defense says they do not plan to send additional troops to the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous region.
