Latest Articles about Central Asia
A Who’s Who of the Insurgency in Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province: Part One – North and South Waziristan
Militants operating in Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) include both Taliban and non-Taliban forces. However, the Taliban militants are much larger in number and have a lot more influence in the region. The Pakistani Taliban have close links with the Afghan Taliban and operate on... MORE
NEW CSTO MILITARY FORCE PLANNED
The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), long regarded by Western military experts as something of a “paper tiger,” will become increasingly active in Central Asia as Russia’s President Medvedev presses for the militarization of the organization. CSTO General Secretary Nikolay Bordyuzha has referred to the... MORE
SOUTH OSSETIA TESTS KAZAKHSTAN’S FOREIGN POLICY PRIORITIES
Speaking at the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) summit in Moscow on September 5, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev went out of his way to show his country’s commitment to this heavily militarized organization, which unites four Central Asian countries, Armenia, and Belarus under the watchful... MORE
RUSSIA OFFERS SUPPORT AMID KYRGYZSTAN’S ECONOMIC CRISIS
Following a bilateral meeting in Moscow, Kyrgyz Prime Minister Igor Chudinov announced an agreement with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to begin cooperation in the hydro-energy sector (www.24.kg, September 17). Furthermore, Russian Gazprom will explore natural gas reserves in Kyrgyzstan. Chudinov was vague about how... MORE
ARMED CLASH IN ASHGABAT
According to Turkmenistan’s Foreign Ministry press service, an incident occurred in Ashgabat on September 13, as a consequence of the activities of an illegal drug ring. The Prosecutor-General’s Office said that an operation involving the use of police and special forces units had been launched... MORE
ASSASSINS OF KYRGYZ JOURNALIST STILL AT LARGE
On October 24, 2007, one of the most prominent journalists in the southern Kyrgyzstan and the Uzbek part of the Ferghana Valley, Alisher Saipov, was assassinated in the town of Osh. The passersby, who were in the vicinity, said that Alisher was killed pointblank by... MORE
CSTO SUMMIT DISAPPOINTS MOSCOW, UNITES CENTRAL ASIA
At the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) summit in Moscow on September 5, Central Asian leaders once again avoided supporting Russia's recognition of South Ossetian and Abkhaz independence. As at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit on August 28, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister... MORE
Playing With Fire: Pakistan’s Unintended Strategic Challenge in India’s Homeland
Having examined India’s Afghan policy as a challenge meant to undermine Pakistani security (see Terrorism Focus, August 12), this article examines Pakistan’s low-intensity war against India which, while long ongoing, has been effectively broadened since the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan and India’s expanding presence there.... MORE
CAN NAZARBAYEV HELP KYRGYZSTAN ESCAPE MOSCOW’S PRESSURE?
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s reluctance to support Russia’s recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia’s independence at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Dushanbe last week has clearly damaged the organization’s internal cohesion, revealing cleavages between its strongest members–Russia and China. But Nazarbayev also gave... MORE
MONGOLIA’S POLITICAL LEADERS COMPROMISE, RESUME COOPERATION
On June 29 Mongolia held its fifth round of parliamentary elections for the Ulsyn Ikh Khural (State Great Hural, or Parliament) since the country abandoned Communism in 1990 and held its first multiparty elections. Opposition parties cried foul; two days later the country’s capital erupted... MORE