DUSHANBE, February 1, 2013, Asia-Plus:

January 1                     - One Tajik border guard was killed and at least one other was wounded in an armed skirmish on the Tajik-Afghan border in Khatlon province.  According to the State Committee for National Security, about 20 intruders had opened fire after being intercepted during a nighttime patrol;

- Uzbekistan imposed ban on the road transportation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) through its territory.  A decision the Uzbek authorities say is intended to protect public safety and the environment. 

January 3                     - Tajikistan’s lower house (Majlisi Namoyandagon) of parliament ratified an agreement between Tajikistan and NATO on physical security and stockpile management (PSSM);

January 7                     - Officers from the Interior Ministry’s office for Dushanbe seized a large amount of raw opium.  Three packages of narcotic drug that tested positive to raw opium weighing more than 21 kilograms were found hidden in Daewoo-Nexia belonging to a Dushanbe resident;

                                    - Tajik President Emomali Rahmon Mr. Dimitris Tsitsiragos, Vice President, Eastern and Southern Europe, Central Asia, Middle East and North Africa, International Finance Corporation (IFC).  The sides reportedly considered a broad range of issues related to cooperation between Tajikistan and the International Finance Corporation as well as support for socioeconomic development of Tajikistan.

January 8                     - An operation carried out by officers from the Drug Control Agency (DCA) led to the arrest of a 34-year-old resident of Dushanbe on suspicion of having been involved in drug pushing.  22 packages of narcotic drug that tested positive to raw opium weighing some 10 kilograms and Makarov pistol were reportedly confiscated from alleged drug peddler.

January 9                     - The Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower chamber of parliament) ratified an agreement on Tajikistan’s admission to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

January 9-10                 - Two suspected members of the banned Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) were reportedly apprehended in a special operation that was carried out in the Mastchoh district overnight between January 9 and 10.  One police officer was wounded during the operation.  Police and security forces reportedly confiscated ammunition and weapons from the suspects.

January 11                    - One person was killed in the Varzob district after an avalanche swept away a vehicle.  Three other persons were reportedly rescued;  

                                    - Tajik Prime Minister Oqil Oqilov had a telephone conversation with Russian First Vice-Premier Igor Shuvalov to discuss activities of the Tajik-Russian intergovernmental commission for trade and economic cooperation.  The sides reportedly also considered issues related to preparation and signing of an agreement on duty-free Russian fuel deliveries to Tajikistan.

January 12                    - Two persons were killed by an avalanche in the Rasht Valley (eastern Tajikistan).  According to the Committee for Emergency Situations (CES) under the Government of Tajikistan, two persons were buried when an avalanche hit an area between the villages of Askalon and Sharkho in the Rasht district;

- A 25-year-old Tajik citizen, Jumakhon Azizov, was shot and killed by police in Moscow after allegedly threatening officers with a knife.  According to Russian police, two officers attempted to stop a car for a routine document check.  The car made a rapid U-turn and sped off.  Police reportedly pulled the car over and attempted to arrest the five men in the vehicle when Azizov allegedly pulled out a knife.  The four other men were detained.  

January 14                    - Unknown gunmen killed one police officer and wounded a second at the traffic police checkpoint near the city of Konibodom.  According to police, the gunmen opened fire at the police after their car was stopped at the checkpoint.  The assailants escaped after the attack.

January 15                    - An enlarged session of the government to review the results of the past year’s work took place in Dushanbe.

January 15-16               - A roundtable meeting on disengagement, rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners for violent extremism and terrorism-related offenses was held at the OSCE Office in Tajikistan.  Organized by the OSCE Office in partnership with the United Nations Institute for Crime and Justice Research (UNICRI), the event brought together some 16 international experts and participants from Tajik government agencies who discussed good practices from all over the world in the prevention of radicalization in prisons, with a particular focus on Tajik approaches and experiences.

January 16                    - Sughd police chief Sharif Nazarov announced at a news conference in Khujand that six members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) were arrested in the Mastchoh district.   Nazarov added that two assailants who killed a policeman and wounded his partner at the checkpoint near the city of Konibodom were also identified as IMU members;

- An operation carried out by police officers in the Shouroobod district, Khatlon province led to the arrest of Afghan drug peddler.  65.5 kilograms of cannabis were confiscated from him. 

January 17                    - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov paid a short visit to Tajikistan.  During his stay in Dushanbe, Russian foreign minister held talks with his Tajik counterpart Hamrokhon Zarifi and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon.  The sides reportedly considered a broad range of issues related to bilateral cooperation between Tajikistan and the Russian Federation;

- A number of Internet service providers (ISPs) in Tajikistan blocked access to the Facebook social network again.  Radio Liberty’s website in Tajik was also reported blocked as were several other websites.  The websites were reportedly blocked following SMS instructions from the communications service agency.  This is the third time the Tajik authorities block access to Facebook.

January 18                    - The Supreme Court of Tajikistan sentenced Dilovarsho Qosimov, who was found guilty of killing Kholmumin Safarov, the 57-year-old husband of President Emomali Rahmon''s eldest sister, to 26 years in prison.  The sentence followed his conviction on charges of murder, illegal possession of weapons and polygamy.  Kholmumin Safarov was found dead after being shot by unknown assailants on June 13, 2012.  The shooting is reported to have occurred as he was returning to his home after evening prayers at a nearby mosque.  A native of Khatlon’s Vose district, Safarov had been serving as chief of the Tajik government''s forest and hunting agency; 

                                    - Interior Minister Ramazon Rahimov told journalists in Dushanbe that a special operation to detain members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) is going on in Sughd province.  According to him, more than ten persons involved in the IMU activities were arrested during the operation.  The minister noted that one policeman was killed and two others were wounded in the operation. 

January 22                    - Tajik and Kyrgyz foreign ministries held political consultations in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek.

- Tajik Embassy was reportedly opened in Kuwait City, the capital city of the State of Kuwait.

January 24                    - A meeting of the country’s Security Council, presided over by President Emomali Rahmon, took place in Dushanbe.  The meeting reportedly reviewed the results of work carried out in 2012 and set tasks for this year.  The meeting participants included speakers of both chambers of the parliament, prime minister, senior representatives from president’s executive office, heads of power-wielding structures and law enforcement agencies, senior representatives of economic bloc ministries and other officials.

January 22-26               - Tajik-Kyrgyz border took place in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.  The talks reportedly focused on a 40-kilometer border segment.  Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan share a 970-kilometer-long border, but only 519 kilometers were fully agreed upon after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

January 28                    - Tajik President Emomali Rahmon signed a decree on regulation of tobacco trade in the country.  Under this decree, a special permission will be required for trade in tobacco goods in Tajikistan beginning on April 1 this year.