Uzbekistan Reshuffles Key Security Roles

The government did not announce any reasons for the reshuffle.

Uzbek Army Band; image: mos.ru

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has made changes to key positions in the country's security establishment, according to a statement from a presidential aide on Sunday, The Caspian Post reports citing foreign media.

Shukhrat Khalmukhamedov has been promoted to defense minister from his previous post as the ministry’s first deputy minister and chief of the general staff of the military, presidential press secretary Sherzod Asadov said on social media. Khalmukhamedov had held his previous job since 2021.

Khalmukhamedov replaced Bahodir Kurbanov, who was defense minister for five years and moved to chairman of the State Security Service, the national intelligence agency, according to the press secretary. Kurbanov, in turn, took over from Abdusalam Azizov, who was transferred to the Security Council secretariat under the president. Azizov previously held several high-level jobs, including defense minister, internal affairs minister and head of the Uzbekistan Football Association.

The government did not announce any reasons for the reshuffle. It came one month after a shooting attack on a vehicle in the Tashkent region that prompted reports by Uzbek media organizations and social media posts that a former high-profile figure in the government was traveling in the vehicle and was the target. There were no injuries in the attack.

The prosecutor general’s office has said several suspects were arrested, but has provided few other details about the case. Authorities warned that people who spread false information can be prosecuted because it can lead to panic and destabilize society.

In other security developments in the region, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has told his government to upgrade protections at key military and civilian facilities because of escalating hostilities between Ukraine and Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.