Tajikistan

For much of the last six months, the internet has been either inaccessible or heavily curtailed in Tajikistan’s eastern autonomous region.

The trial made an unexpected turn when an expert said Chorshanbe Chorshanbiev’s comments did not actually contain a call to violence.

“Everyone wants this nightmare to end,” a resident of Khorog told The Diplomat via phone.

In recent weeks, both Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have signed agreements with Afghanistan on energy supplies in 2022, despite unplanned outages.

How did I do on my outlook for Central Asia 2021? 

After nearly three months in limbo in a Tajik sanitorium, a group of 191 Afghans, many U.S.-trained pilots, have been flown out of the region.

At the EU-Central Asia Economic Forum, the EU kept its rhetoric uncontroversial. However, Central Asian countries signaled they may respond well to more ambitious EU goals.

With no regional options for truly “like-minded” partners, France seems to be settling on Tajikistan as the best bet.

Central Asian governments seem more sensitive to domestic and regional threats possibly invigorated by the Taliban’s rise to power.

Both Russia and Pakistan have reportedly urged Tajikistan and the Taliban to cool off their war of words, concerned about conflict on the border.

With Uzbekistan under pressure, those who landed in Termez are being moved to the UAE. Those in Tajikistan are waiting.