Tajikistan: Regional Visit Highlights Challenges To Regime

Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon arrived Sept. 18 in Khorug, the capital of Tajikistan's eastern Gorno-Badakhshan province, for a two-day visit to the region. While the official purpose of the trip is to inaugurate schools and businesses, the visit is more likely motivated by persistent security and political issues in the province. Just a month has passed since the end of military operations in Gorno-Badakhshan, and the restive province is capable of destabilizing the rest of the country.

Still, simmering tensions in Gorno-Badakhshan are only the most immediate of many issues challenging Rakhmon's regime ahead of Tajikistan's 2013 presidential election. Though currently experiencing fragile peace, the divided country remains vulnerable to rapid escalations of seemingly small and localized crises. Rakhmon's grip on power could also be complicated by external pressures from countries, such as Uzbekistan, and the re-emergence of previously marginalized political factions.