Latest Articles about Central Asia
The Caspian Sea: China’s Silk Road Strategy Converges with Damascus
The Caspian region is becoming enmeshed in a web of overlapping political, military, trade and energy interests of countries extending from Asia, to the Middle East, to Russia, to Europe. Given the rising instability of Middle East energy supplies, the Caspian basin has emerged in... MORE
Kazakhstan’s Uncertain Future in the Customs Union
On July 1, the Customs Union between Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus formally came into force. However, the occasion produced no cause for celebration among the members of the Customs Union. The reasons for such open pessimism over the future of this organization are becoming evident,... MORE
Kyrgyz Officials Poised to Reject OSCE Forces
Kyrgyzstan’s top officials are against the deployment of Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) 52-member Police Advisory Group. The OSCE can still “gracefully” cancel its decision to send the group to Kyrgyzstan, said Security Council Secretary Alik Orozov (www.akipress.kg, August 11). “The situation... MORE
Opposition to OSCE Police Forces Grows in Kyrgyzstan
More Kyrgyz political activists are speaking out against the prospective deployment of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) 52-member Police Advisory Group. Infringement of the country’s sovereignty, limited capacity to improve the situation in southern Kyrgyzstan, and the potential for increased instability... MORE
Tajik Police Detain Islamic School Leader and Students
On August 1, police in Tajikistan detained Mavlavi Abduqahor, the leader of an unregistered Islamic school in the Rudaki district south of Dushanbe, along with about 70 of his students. According to Tajikistan’s Islamic Revival Party (IRPT), the religious leader and some of his students... MORE
Half-Hearted Security Operations in Punjab Do Little to Restrain Taliban Attacks
Nobody in the Punjab security establishment was aware of how deep the Taliban had penetrated local society when the police and law enforcement agencies started a half-hearted operation against the Punjabi Taliban in the last days of June. The operation came in response to simultaneous... MORE
Al-Qaeda’s Ambitions in Pakistan: Changing Goals, Changing Strategies
President Obama’s Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy, by defining a goal of “disrupting, dismantling, and defeating al-Qaeda,” on the one hand gives direction to this otherwise directionless war, and on the other emphasizes targeting al-Qaeda over all other anti-terrorism efforts (Associated Press of Pakistan, August 2). Al-Qaeda, as... MORE
Arrests Mark Opportunity for Improved Relations Between Tajikistan and its Neighbors
In a rare moment of cross-border cooperation, the government of Tajikistan handed over two suspected terrorists to its neighbors at the beginning of July (www.azattyk.kg, July 8). Officials in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan consider Abduvakhid Aliev and Atabek Toychiev, respectively, to be guilty of a variety... MORE
Moscow Prepares OSCE “Reform” Proposals for the Summit in Kazakhstan
Ahead of the OSCE summit under Kazakhstan’s chairmanship, Russian officials are resurrecting the agenda of “OSCE reforms” to reconfigure the organization in line with Russian foreign policy objectives. The reform proposals date back for the most part to 2004 and have been promoted since then... MORE
Tension Rises Ahead of Elections in Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan’s parliamentary election on October 10, will either mark the beginning of a period of chaos or successful democratic change, according to Kyrgyz political leaders. The incumbent government leadership is convinced it will prove to be a turning point in democracy-building, while the opposition warns... MORE