The Reasons Behind a New Wave of Violence in the Pamirs

An online event co-sponsored with the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs and the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Tajikistan’s Pamir region has been racked by violence since mid-May as the government has sought to undermine the influence of local leaders and gain full control over the area. Obtaining information about what is happening has been made more complicated as the government has cut off the internet in the area. But it is clear that the government is conducting a campaign to suppress the local population and prevent them from protesting. According to reports, over 50 civilians have been killed, including prominent local leader Muhammadboqir Muhammadboqirov who had long been sought by the authorities. The unrest in the worst that the region has seen in the past decade.

Speakers

Sirojiddin Tolibov is the Managing Editor of RFE/RL’s Tajik Service. Having reported on operations against Islamic militants from the main hot spots in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan throughout his journalistic career, he is an expert on security matters, Islamic groups, human rights, and social and economic issues in Central Asia. Prior to RFE/RL, Tolibov spent 20 years with the BBC World Service’s Central Asian unit as a reporter, manager, news anchor, and editor. 

Suzanne Levi-Sanchez is a Non-Resident Fellow at American University’s School of International Service and a retired (tenured) Associate Professor of National Security Affairs Department at the U.S. Naval War College. She is the author of a number of publications including: The Afghan-Central Asia Borderlands: The State and Local Leaders, Routledge (2017); Bridging State and Civil Society: Informal Organizations in Tajik/Afghan Badakhshan, University of Michigan Press (2021); and Fieldwork as Craft: A Practical Guide to Doing Research in the Real World, Rowman and Littlefield International (Forthcoming, 2023).  slsanchez@american.edu