
Latest Articles about Uzbekistan

Tashkent Strengthens Security Ties with Moscow Ahead of NATO Drawdown
For several months after Uzbekistan’s de facto exit from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) (see EDM, July 18, 2012)—formalized during the organization’s December 2012 summit in Moscow—Western analysts have speculated about the future shape of Tashkent’s military and security ties. But now, Uzbekistan has... MORE

The Disappearance of Tajikistan’s Ethnic Uzbek Leader: A New Stage in the Struggle Between Tashkent and Dushanbe?
Salim Shamsiddinov, a leader of Tajikistan’s ethnic Uzbek community, went missing on March 16. According to Amnesty International, Shamsiddinov’s disappearance could have been a politically motivated abduction. In May of last year, Shamsiddinov was severely beaten by unknown attackers. That attack came after he suggested... MORE

Kazakhstani Foreign Minister Erlan Idrissov Conducts Shuttle Diplomacy in Central Asia
Kazakhstan’s mediation role in Iran, which resumes today, is not unique. Astana has striven to resolve conflicts throughout its Eurasian neighborhood. To this end, at the end of March, Kazakhstani Foreign Minister Erlan Idrissov visited Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to engage in some shuttle diplomacy to... MORE

The Afghan Threat: Reality or Uzbek Political Games?
A shootout occurred on March 21, on the border of Afghanistan and Tajikistan, between armed Afghans and residents of the Shuroabad District (in southwestern Tajikistan). Four people died. According to local residents, three armed Afghan smugglers entered Dekhi Qozi village. They took four local residents... MORE

NDN ‘Reverse Transit,’ Uzbekistan and the Failure of Western Grand Strategy (Part Two)
The drawdown of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) combat forces from Afghanistan by 2014 will limit the future potential of the Northern Distribution Network (NDN). Moreover, the withdrawal has left defense planning staffs among International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) members trying to resolve the conundrum... MORE

NDN ‘Reverse Transit,’ Uzbekistan and the Failure of Western Grand Strategy (Part One)
Over the past several years, countries participating in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan diversified their air and ground lines of communications (LOCs) to transport mostly non-lethal equipment and supplies to Afghanistan through the Northern Distribution Network (NDN). Since then, individual North Atlantic... MORE

Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan Heighten Tensions in Violent Local Border Dispute
Already unstable relations between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan worsened this week. Violence had erupted in early January 2013 in the Uzbekistani enclave of Sokh located inside Kyrgyzstan that resulted in property damage and hostages being taking. Since January 7, Bishkek continues to block access to Uzbekistan’s... MORE

Militants Threaten to Return to Central Asia after NATO’s Withdrawal from Afghanistan
On December 4, 2012, the deputy chairman of Kazakhstan’s National Security Committee, Kabdulkarim Abdikazymov, said to the press that Jund al-Khilafa was a “real threat” to Kazakhstan’s national security (Tengrinews, December 4, 2012). Similarly, on November 26, 2012, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on... MORE

Fresh Border Incident Could Provoke New Inter-Ethnic Clashes in the Ferghana Valley
Residents of Uzbekistan’s enclave of Sokh located within Batken province (southern Kyrgyzstan) attacked Kyrgyz border guards and took, according to different sources, between 30 and 40 citizens of Kyrgyzstan hostage in a series of events that began on January 5. Border guards from Kyrgyzstan were... MORE

A Portrait of Uzbekistan’s Dissident Cleric In Exile: Obidhon Nazarov
In late August, a series of drone strikes in Northern Waziristan were reported to have killed a number of jihadist leaders. Most media attention focused on the possible demise of Badruddin Haqqani, son of the fabled mujahideen leader, with conflicting reports about whether he had... MORE