DUSHANBE, August 22, 2011, Asia-Plus  -- Beginning on August 25, the Dousti (Friendship) Square in the center of Dushanbe will be closed for traffic at night in connection with a military parade rehearsal, Sherafgan Latifov, a spokesman for the Dushanbe traffic police department, said in an interview with Asia-Plus.

“From August 25 to September 5, the square will be closed for traffic from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm,” Latifov said.

More than 10,000 soldiers and officers from the Dushanbe Garrison of the Ministry of Defense, as well as Ministries of Interior and Justice, as well as the National Guards and the Border Guard Department of the State Committee for National Security (SCNS) will be on a military parade dedicated to the 20th anniversary of Tajikistan’s Independence that will take place in Dushanbe on September 9.  Servicemen of Russian military base deployed in Tajikistan are also expected to be on the military parade in Dushanbe.

Faridoun Mahmadaliyev, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense (MoD), says the military parade will not involve military materiel.

Tajik Defense Minister, Colonel-General Sherali Khairulloyev, and Commander of the Dushanbe Garrison, Major-General Latif Fayziyev, will command the parade in Dushanbe.

In the meantime, military parades dedicated to the 20th anniversary of Tajikistan’s Independence will be held in all regional administrative centers as well.