President Emomali Rahmon today congratulated Tajik police on their professional holiday, according to the Tajik president’s official website.
In his message of congratulations, the head of state expressed gratitude to police officers for their contribution to creation of democratic, rule-of-law and secular state in Tajikistan.
Tajik leader, in particular, noted “Thanks to the loyal service of the employees of the internal affairs bodies, the citizens of the country today see in the person of the policemen the defenders of the security of the state and the people, supremacy of law and public order, rights and freedoms, property and stability of society and collaborate with them.”
On the occasion of a Tajik Militsiya Day, which is marked in Tajikistan on November 10, a number of sports activities are expected to be held among police officers across the country.
In Tajikistan, law enforcement is primarily the responsibility of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which controls the police force. It is split up into multiple departments, each led by an officer, including the Tajik Internal Troops.
In Tajikistan, militsiya has not been renamed the police.
Meanwhile, a police reform is still ongoing in Tajikistan. Tajik police reform is a reform aimed at improving the efficiency of Tajikistan’s police force and the renaming, under which the country's police force will formally be referred to as “politsia” instead of the Soviet-era “militsiya,” is part of what the police reform.
The Police Reform Strategy in Tajikistan (Strategy) is a document, which defines the state policy on combating crime. It reflects the actions that will be implemented by the Government of Tajikistan in a mid-term on police reforming and development of Tajikistan.
The Strategy has been developed by national experts in cooperation with the OSCE Office in Tajikistan based on the Joint Needs Assessment of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Tajikistan, carried out by the OSCE assessment team in 2008, as well as based on the “Police Reform Assessment” workshop, conducted from November 9 to 20, 2009.
The Strategy is aimed at the identification of goals, priorities and measures on Police Reforming and Development, the implementation of which facilitates the solution of crucial tasks of socio-economic development of Tajikistan in the modern era.
The date of Militsiya Day in Tajikistan has changed several times. During the Soviet times, Tajikistan celebrated the Day of the Soviet Militia on November 10 alongside the rest of the Soviet republics. Following the proclamation of the independence of Tajikistan, Militsiya Day was being celebrated on February 6 until 2011 to commemorate the anniversary of the formation of the Dushanbe militsiya. However, this decision was disliked by many veterans and it was decided to return to the original date in 2011.
