Kyrgyzstan

A pandemic-related influx of Pakistani and other South Asian travelers mixed with Afghanistan worries to produce a xenophobic backlash on social media.

The Interior Ministry justified the wiretaps as part of investigations into the October 2020 unrest.

Japarov signed the bill passed by the parliament last month, but many questions remain about how it will be implemented.

Presidential meetings in Central Asia are often dismissed for a lack of concrete results and for their exclusively ceremonial character. But there are good reasons to take the latest meeting seriously.

The Central Asian republics can learn from the experience of Southeast Asia and use the crisis in Afghanistan to spur forward regional cooperation at a time of great power competition. 

Kyrgyzstan’s first president admitted to making mistakes regarding the mine.

Following summits in 2018 and 2019, the 2021 meeting comes amid a great number of regional difficulties and concerns.

Kyrgyzstan’s parliament will shrink and change after the next election, expected later this year, under new legislation and a new constitution.

With another former prime minister arrested, the Kumtor case grows. Meanwhile, some have been released and others kept in custody.

After 16 years, Askar Akayev returned to Kyrgyzstan in connection with the Kyrgyz state’s growing case against the Canadian mining company Centerra Gold.

Jenish Moldokmatov, a harsh critic of President Japarov, is facing charges of orchestrating riots during last October's unrest; the same unrest that saw Japarov rise to power.