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BISHKEK, KYRGYZSTAN — Military spending is surging in the former Soviet republics of Central Asia, a development officials link to regional conflicts such as the war in Ukraine, although experts doubt the buildup will increase stability.

While Russia was the dominant arms supplier to these countries for more than three decades, other countries including Turkey, China and the United States have now entered the market.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, last year’s military spending by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan was $1.8 billion. Figures from Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, which do not disclose information about the share of military spending in their gross domestic product, were not included in the report.

Regional media reports say that last year’s Kazakhstani military budget was 0.5% of the country’s estimated $259.7 billion GDP. Kyrgyzstan’s military accounted for 1.5% of its estimated $13.9 billion GDP, or $208.5 million, and for Tajikistan it was 1% of an estimated $12 billion GDP, or $120 million.

Kyrgyz buildup

Kamchibek Tashiev, deputy chairman of the Kyrgyz Cabinet of Ministers, who coordinates Kyrgyzstan’s security forces, told a July 2023 government meeting that since 2021, Kyrgyzstan had spent $1,3 billion to modernize its military. He said much of that went to new high-tech weaponry.

“We bought unmanned Bayraktar, Aksungur, Akinci, combat aerial vehicles, which many countries have not yet bought; we also bought upgrades to our air defense system, Mi-8, Mi-17, helicopters,” he said.

Tense relations with neighboring Tajikistan prompted Kyrgyzstan’s government to start paying more attention to the military, with a 2023 Kyrgyz Defense Ministry military doctrine calling the threat level posed by Kyrgyz-Tajik border tension significant.

That tension led to armed conflicts between the countries in April 2021 and September 2022, together causing the deaths of civilians and displacement of thousands of people.

If Kyrgyz officials were hoping new weapons would give them an upper hand with Tajikistan, they were mistaken.

In May 2022, Iran opened a drone production plant in Tajikistan, producing the Ababil-2 reconnaissance and combat drone. Then, in April of 2024, the Tajik government signed a $1.5 million agreement with Turkey on the supply of unspecified number of Bayraktar attack drones.

In a December 2022 interview, Dushanbe-based political analyst Parviz Mullojanov, said in the “ongoing arms race” Tajikistan is likely to buy modern weapons.

“We’re talking about radio and electronic warfare equipment, air defense systems that will neutralize attack drones,” he said.

Other regional countries

Other countries in the region are increasing military spending too. Kazakhstan’s defense spending has increased by 8.8% compared to last year. Uzbekistan, which does not disclose its military budget, reportedly allotted an additional $260 million to its defense budget last year.

During his January 2024 meeting with Uzbek military leaders, broadcast by Uzbek state TV, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said that by 2030, Uzbekistan will have a modernized army with high-tech weaponry. In Turkmenistan, President Gunbanguly Berdymukhamedov instructed the Defense Ministry to increase military preparedness at a meeting this month of the country’s security council.

Regional officials point to the conflicts in the post-Soviet space – such as the Ukraine war and the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, border conflicts in Central Asia, and instability in Afghanistan – as reasons for beefing up their militaries.

However, Peter Leonard, a writer specializing in Central Asian affairs, told VOA, “Partly it is a matter of prestige. Authoritarian leaders like to flaunt shiny and expensive weapons. We see this visually in Turkmenistan, where officials show off their new weapons and vehicles from China, Europe and elsewhere during annual military parades. We see this trend in all of Central Asia.”

The rise in Central Asian militarization underscores changing geopolitical context as well. The Russian-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organization, an alliance of Russia and five other former Soviet republics — Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Armenia – has historically played an important role in in Central Asian security matters.

However, in recent years, outside countries, including Turkey, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, China, Germany, France, and Belarus, have emerged as military partners to the Central Asian republics.

According to regional media reports, between 2010 and 2024, Turkey and Iran supplied attack drones to Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan; the United States provided technical support and military vehicles to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan; China sold air defense equipment to Uzbekistan; France and Germany sold military helicopters to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan; and Belarus supplied air defense equipment to Kyrgyzstan.

Varying views on effects from militarization

With so much cash given to the military and weapons flooding the region, discussions among experts focus on the militarization’s effects. Svenja Petersen, a Berlin-based analyst and researcher specializing on the former Soviet Union, told VOA that the Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan arms race was of particular concern.

“While Kyrgyz and Tajik leaders have spoken about a need to foster peace and security along the frontier, both countries have been girding for renewed battle,” she said.

A January 2023 commentary by Vecherni Bishkek, a Kyrgyzstani pro-government news website, claimed that “while the likelihood of a war is low, confrontations [between regional armed forces] are unavoidable.”

Other experts express doubt that the arms race between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan will lead to conflict.

“Paradoxically,” Leonard said, “the intensification of militaries in these countries has not, in fact, exacerbated tensions but has resulted in a different outcome — which is much more cordial and practical dialogue about border demarcation. These countries, which were at a dangerous point, are on the cusp of signing a historic border agreement which will put an end to three decades of [border-related] conflict.”

Bakhtiyor Ergashev, director of the Tashkent-based political research institute Mano said in a January 2023 media interview that he doubted that large-scale military conflicts in the region would happen.

“Undoubtedly, there are some hotspots, such as the conflict between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. But I am convinced that this conflict, though it has tendency for escalation, will be resolved.”

Regional residents also hold differing views on the effects of militarization.

Danil Usmanov, a Kyrgyzstani photojournalist who was in Kyrgyzstan’s Batken province, bordering Tajikistan, reporting on the April 2021 and September 2022 Kyrgyz border conflicts told VOA that in his conversations with residents of Kyrgyz border towns, he sensed they would prefer that Bishkek officials spend more to solve their region’s economic problems.

But, he said, they accept increased military spending and militarization of Batken “as a necessary vice to deter border conflicts with Tajikistan.”

Kyrgyz officials have defended their increased military spending, saying that it boosted their capacity to thwart potential conflicts. During his January 2024 meeting with residents of Kyrgyzstan’s Jalal-Abad province, Tashiev said weapons and related purchases have allowed a change in the Central Asian balance of power.

“We are no longer seen as a weak country that lacks [military] might. … Today, we are seen as a formidable opponent, as a strong state and strong partner. All of this indicates that our country has grown in strength,” he said.

Leonard, though, said the militarization is unlikely to bolster the Central Asian republics’ political stability.

“If Central Asian governments are perceiving conventional armed forces as a key to bolstering stability in their countries without giving sufficient attention to issues such as political reform, putting institutions in place that serve as means for relieving pressure from below, then they may be in for an unpleasant surprise,” he said.

“Kazakhstan, for instance, invests extensive resources into its army. But can that prevent events like the January 2022 nationwide protests that rocked the whole country?”
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ISLAMABAD — The United States urged Pakistan Wednesday to protect the rights of all citizens, including freedom of expression and assembly, as a military-backed crackdown on the opposition party of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan continues. 

Donald Blome, the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, stressed during a seminar in Islamabad that upholding constitutionally guaranteed rights is crucial to the country’s economic progress. 

“Protecting human rights for all is not just a fundamental pillar of a democracy; it’s a critical component of a vibrant and stable society drawing on the talents and contributions of all its citizens for the country’s benefits,” Blome said.  

“Without such stability, the prospects for investment and economic growth appear far less certain,” he noted, without directly naming Pakistani political stakeholders.

The U.S. ambassador’s remarks came as Pakistan faces prolonged political turmoil stemming from Khan’s removal from power in 2022 through a parliamentary no-confidence vote and his subsequent imprisonment last August, which the United Nations described as having no legal basis. 

The ongoing crackdown has led to the arrest of hundreds of supporters of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, party, including women.  

This week, police raided the PTI’s headquarters in the Pakistani capital, detaining its chief spokesman and several other media team professionals, accusing them of running an “anti-state campaign.”  

Khan’s aides have denounced the arrests as part of a campaign of suppression and intimidation.  

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s coalition government, struggling to address Pakistan’s deep economic problems, has publicly stated its intention to ban the party over charges of anti-state activities and maligning the military.  

“We will, under no circumstances, tolerate such actions against our motherland, innocent people, or the armed forces of Pakistan,” Sharif reiterated Wednesday, while presiding over a cabinet meeting.  

The threat of banning the country’s most popular and the single largest party in parliament has further fueled political tensions.  

On Tuesday, during a congressional hearing in Washington, the crackdown and potential banning of the Pakistani opposition party also came under discussion when Donald Lu, the U.S. assistant secretary of state, was responding to questions from lawmakers.

Democratic Congressman Brad Sherman, a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, raised the issue of Pakistan banning Khan from holding public office and preventing his party from using its iconic cricket bat symbol on the ballots in the February 8 vote.  

“The information minister and two other ministers have said that they want to ban the PTI. And we see in the latest development that the PTI office has been sealed, their national information security and many women have been arrested,” Sherman said.  

“The best thing you can do is ask Ambassador Blome to go visit Imran Khan in prison, and I wonder if you would consider that,” the congressmen told Lu. “We’ll definitely discuss it with Ambassador Blome,” responded the assistant secretary of state. 

“Pakistan’s future must be decided by its people. It’s clear that the PTI is Pakistan’s most popular party. I disagree with Imran Khan on many things, but it’s the right of Pakistan’s people to choose their leader,” Sherman wrote on his social media X platform after the hearing.

Khan’s arrest last year sparked violent street protests in Pakistan, with some of his supporters attacking facilities linked to the country’s powerful military.  

The Sharif government and the military used the riots to defend the crackdown on the PTI and as a reason to keep Khan in prison after several of his convictions in other cases were recently overturned by appeals courts for lack of evidence.  

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court ruled that the PTI was eligible for around two dozen extra reserved seats in parliament, saying the Election Commission of Pakistan deprived the party of them in breach of the constitution.  

Once implemented, the verdict will further strengthen the PTI in the parliament and weaken the ruling coalition. It has also given credence to the opposition and independent monitors’ allegations that the February 8 elections were rigged in favor of pro-military parties and prevented the PTI from sweeping the polls.  

Khan, 71, rejects all charges against him — ranging from corruption to sedition and a fraudulent marriage — as politically motivated and part of a larger effort by the military to keep him and his party from returning to power.  

The former cricket hero turned politician insists on the return of his party’s “stolen mandate” or new elections overseen by an impartial election commission. 

Sharif, who has the backing of the military, denies his government is unfairly targeting Khan and his party, saying it was determined to bring to justice those responsible for the May 2023 attacks on military facilities.  

Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted 368-7 to approve a resolution urging “the full and independent investigation of claims of interference or irregularities” in Pakistan’s election, a move Islamabad rejected.
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DHAKA — Rush-hour traffic returned to the streets of the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on Wednesday, as a curfew was eased after four days of nationwide shutdown that followed deadly protests led by university students against quotas in government jobs.

Offices reopened and broadband internet was largely restored, although social media continued to be suspended, days after the clashes between protesters and security forces killed almost 150 people.

The country has been relatively calm since Sunday, when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of an appeal from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government and directed that 93% of jobs should be open to candidates on merit.

Bangladesh’s mainstay garment and textiles industries, which supply to major Western brands, also began reopening some factories after a pause in production during the curfew.

“All our factories are open today. Everything is going smoothly,” said S.M. Mannan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

The stock exchange opened too, as well as banks, after remaining shut the past two days.

Residents of Dhaka were out on the streets, some making their way to offices as public buses also began running in some places.

“It was a hassle to reach the office on time,” said Shamima Akhter, who works at a private firm in the capital. “Some roads are still blocked for security reasons. Don’t know when everything will get normal.”

Local news websites, which had stopped updating since Friday, were back online too.

Bangladesh authorities had shut mobile internet and deployed the army on the streets during the curfew that was imposed from midnight on Saturday.

The government said curfew restrictions would be relaxed for seven hours on Wednesday and Thursday, and offices would also be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Student demands

Analysts say the student action has given fresh impetus to Hasina’s critics, months after she won a fourth-straight term in power in January in a national election boycotted by the main opposition party.

“The informal federation of government critics appears deeper and wider than before the election, which presents a serious challenge to the ruling party,” said Geoffrey Macdonald at the United States Institute of Peace.

Hasina, 76, is the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangladesh, who led the country’s movement for independence from Pakistan.

The earlier 56% job quotas included a 30% reservation for families of veterans of the 1971 independence war, which critics said favored supporters of Hasina’s Awami League.

Hasina’s government had scrapped the quotas in 2018, but a high court ruling reinstated the them last month.

Students were furious because quotas left fewer than half of state jobs open on merit amid an unemployment crisis, particularly in the private sector, making government sector jobs with their regular wage hikes and perks especially prized.

Hasina has blamed her political opponents for the violence and her government said on Tuesday that it would heed the Supreme Court ruling.

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party has denied any involvement in the violence and accused Hasina of authoritarianism and a crackdown on her critics, charges denied by her government.

Protesting students have given the government a fresh 48-hour ultimatum to fulfill four other conditions of an eight-point list of demands, and said they would announce their next steps on Thursday.

“We want the government to meet our four-point demand, including restoration of internet, withdrawal of police from campuses, and opening universities (which have been closed for a week),” protest coordinator Nahid Islam said.
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Islamabad, Pakistan — Afghanistan’s Taliban claimed Tuesday that their crackdown on illegal drug production in the country has helped address a major global challenge but expressed frustration at the ongoing lack of international support in response.

Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi told a national labor conference in Kabul that his country used to be the world’s largest opium-poppy producer. It was detrimental and smuggled to the entire world and resulted in more than four million Afghans becoming drug addicts in the past two decades, he said.

“The illegal production of drugs has ceased. The addicts are now in need of medical treatment while the farmers need livelihoods and employment,” Muttaqi said in his televised speech.

He noted that their counternarcotics campaign has led to immense economic pressures and severe hardships for Afghans reeling from the effects of years of war and natural disasters in the impoverished country.

“Regrettably, the international community has failed to fulfill its responsibility in this matter. Instead, they have imposed sanctions on Afghan trade, travel, and banking sectors in breach of the universal fundamental human rights,” the chief Taliban diplomat said.

The Taliban banned opium poppy cultivation and production in Afghanistan in April 2022, eight months after the fundamentalist group reclaimed power. The South Asian nation supplied about 80% of the global illegal opiate demand and 95% of Europe’s heroin in 2022, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

The UNODC noted in its 2024 World Drug Report that the drug ban has reduced opium production in Afghanistan by 95%, severely impacting the livelihoods of farmers and necessitating urgent humanitarian aid.

Muttaqi complained Tuesday that Afghanistan had been ignored in international conferences aimed at discussing solutions and steps to tackle calamities stemming from climate change.

Afghanistan is listed among the top 10 countries most vulnerable to climate change, even though it accounts for less than 1% of global carbon emissions. It has lately experienced unusually heavy rains, flash flooding, and worsening droughts, killing hundreds of Afghans, destroying livelihoods, and fueling hunger in a country where U.N. agencies say millions of people need urgent humanitarian aid.

However, the country remains largely a global pariah because of the Taliban’s curbs on women’s access to education and work. No country has formally recognized the de facto Afghan government.

The isolation has deterred foreign governments from engaging in formal financial dealings with Kabul and excluded Afghanistan from global climate change meetings, depriving it of much-needed foreign funding to battle climate change.

Muttaqi recounted the Taliban’s security gains, saying they have effectively countered the Islamic State-orchestrated threat of terrorism in the country, established nationwide peace, and ended corruption.

‘Absurd’ demands

“It’s absurd that the world demands action on drug control, security, and preventing Afghan territory misuse but offers zero cooperation,” Muttaqi said. He argued that international collaboration would help his administration create employment opportunities in Afghanistan that would deter its citizens from seeking to migrate to other countries and causing problems for them.

In early July, the United Nations hosted an international conference in Doha, where delegates discussed Afghan private-sector investment possibilities, how to build on the progress made in curbing illegal drug production, and women’s human rights.

“Running through all the discussions was the deep international concern about the ongoing and serious restrictions on women and girls,” Rosemary DiCarlo, the U.N. under-secretary-general who presided over the two-day sessions in Qatar’s capital, told a post-meeting news conference.

“Afghanistan cannot return to the international fold or fully develop economically and socially if it is deprived of the contributions and potential of half its population,” she said.

The Taliban has rejected criticism of their governance as an interference in internal Afghan matters. They maintain their regulations are aligned with Islamic law and local culture.

Girls ages 12 and older are not allowed to attend school beyond the sixth grade, and many women are barred from Afghan public and private sector jobs.

According to a recent U.N. Development Program report, the Afghan economy has contracted by 27%, leading to economic stagnation since the Taliban takeover. The report noted that sectors such as finance have “basically collapsed,” and there are no major sources of economic activity such as exports or public expenditure, leaving small and medium enterprises and farmers “as the lifeblood of the faltering economy.”
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