Aerial view of Uzbekistan's capital city, Tashkent. The country is considering allowing a foreign operator to take over its struggling state-owned airline. Image courtesy of flydubai
Aerial view of Uzbekistan's capital city, Tashkent. The country is considering allowing a foreign operator to take over its struggling state-owned airline. Image courtesy of flydubai
Aerial view of Uzbekistan's capital city, Tashkent. The country is considering allowing a foreign operator to take over its struggling state-owned airline. Image courtesy of flydubai
Aerial view of Uzbekistan's capital city, Tashkent. The country is considering allowing a foreign operator to take over its struggling state-owned airline. Image courtesy of flydubai

Uzbekistan’s ISIS problem: persecution at home may be radicalising young Muslims


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Shirzad, the 37-year-old militant sitting in a dimly lit interview room at Afghanistan’s intelligence agency, tries to excuse his decision to join one of the most brutal terror groups in the world.

“I immigrated [to Afghanistan] from my country [Uzbekistan] to save my religion,” says the Uzbek national at the Kabul facility controlled by the National Directorate of Security, Afghanistan’s intelligence service.

Shirzad, a member of the Islamic State of Khorasan Province, looks frail and fearful. His small structure, gaunt expression and receding hairline make him look several years older than his actual age.

He is one of about 900 ISIS fighters who surrendered or were caught in the past four months during a massive military operation launched by the Afghan forces in the eastern province of Nangarhar.

The ISIS fighter, who now goes by the name Najeebullah, which he adopted when he joined the group in 2015, avoids making eye contact with anyone in the room as he narrates the turn of events that led him to his current state, a prisoner in Afghanistan.

“There was no Islam in Uzbekistan,” he says of the former Soviet territory, all the while staring at his open palm.

“We couldn’t pray or fast [during Ramadan]; people are not allowed to wear scarves, even while praying. They started putting us in jails. They sentenced my cousin to jail for five years [for practising Islam],” he claims in his broken Pashto, a language he picked up in the three-and-a-half years he spent in the eastern provinces of his adopted country.

Although Uzbekistan is a Muslim-majority country, the former Soviet state is known for its strict control of religious expression and practices, what a UN report in 2019 called “extreme surveillance and state control of religious practices,” including laws that criminalise unregistered religious activities.

“There is a history of heavy religious restriction in Uzbekistan and we are concerned that it has led to radicalisation,” said Hugh Williamson, director for Europe and Central Asia at Human Rights Watch.

“In the post-Soviet period, Uzbekistan imposed severe limits on how people express their Muslim faith; and those who did so in ways that don’t conform with the very narrow definitions imposed by state have been persecuted.”

Members of the Afghan security services escort alleged members of ISIS and the Taliban, arrested during an operation in Nangarhar province, January 27, 2016. EPA
Members of the Afghan security services escort alleged members of ISIS and the Taliban, arrested during an operation in Nangarhar province, January 27, 2016. EPA

The former president Islam Karimov, who ruled the country with an iron fist since its liberation from the Soviet Union, had curtailed many religious freedoms. But since his death in 2015, his successor, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, has brought about many reforms, which resulted in the United States administration removing the country from its list of counties engaged in severe violations of religious freedom.

A US congressional advisory body on international religious freedoms, however, recommended that Uzbekistan stay on that list.

Experts say that despite reform, not enough has been done to combat radicalisation, as restrictive laws remain.

Ironically, much of the government activities that subdue religious practices have been on the pretext of combatting the local insurgencies of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and the Islamic Jihad Union. Incidentally, neither insurgency has launched any significant attack inside Uzbekistan since 2004.

Yet the IMU has a significant presence in northern Afghanistan because of the Taliban’s outreach to the group. But the alliance between the Taliban and IMU was never a perfect marriage, says Andrew Watkins, senior analyst at International Crisis Group.

“When the Islamic State came about in Afghanistan in 2015 the IMU were driven toward the global appeal of the Islamic State and pledged allegiance to the ISIS faction in the country,” he said.

Shirzad joined the Tehrik-i-Taliban militant group at home before being told to go to Moscow. He was then instructed to go to Azerbaijan and on to Iran. He was then smuggled into Afghanistan through the porous borders of Nimruz Province. From there, he was taken to Waziristan in Pakistan for three months after meeting the local Taliban leadership, re-entering Afghan territory and joining ISIS in Achin district in Nangarhar.

In his earlier life, as a resident of a small Uzbek town, Shirzad worked at a printing press. So ISIS assigned him to their “press department” in Nangarhar, in charge of printing propaganda material which was distributed across the region, especially in universities for recruitment.

Shirzad admits participating in frequent battles, especially with the Taliban in Zabul, Faryab and Nangarhar provinces, but claims he never killed anyone. The Afghan forces are less convinced of denial of involvement in crimes. They continue to investigate Shirzad and many others who were caught along with him.

“In Achin, we were given a good place to stay and money, about 1,000 to 1,500 Pakistan rupees [Dh23 to Dh34] every month. The younger teenage recruits would be paid 500 Pakistani rupees,” he says. “We would also collect money from local people by selling wood there.”

There remains an estimated 2,500 ISIS fighters in Afghanistan, of whom almost 400 are believed to be foreign.

“We have noticed many central Asian fighters from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as Arabs, Indians and Pakistanis,” an NDS official says. About 60 per cent are from Pakistan, hailing from border tribes, he says.

While the ISIS insurgency declined in the Middle East, its Afghan faction maintained a steady presence in a country already battling the Taliban and other insurgent groups. The Hazara Shia minority was a frequent target, as were government premises, suffering complex attacks that caused many casualties.

That was until recently. As of the end of 2019, nearly 1,400 ISIS fighters left in Nangarhar province, which was the centre of the growing insurgency, had surrendered or were caught during anti-ISIS operations, NDS officials say.

Those like Shirzad, who were struggling to abandon the organisation, saw it as an opportunity for redemption.

“All I wanted was to live an Islamic life. But we were betrayed,” he says, tears welling up in his eyes.

“I am tired of the war and all the wrongs inflicted by the Taliban and Daesh in Afghanistan. I regret ever having come here. Look what it has done to my children – they can’t even go to school. They are losing education opportunities being here in the prison with me,” he says between sobs.

Shirzad had six children, four of whom were born after he arrived in Afghanistan.

He has requested that the Afghan government does not send him back to Uzbekistan. He is willing to serve his time in Afghan prisons and after that he hopes to build a life in Afghanistan, choosing a war-torn country over his birth country.

“If the Afghan government allows, I will stay here with my family, rent a place and work here,” he says, looking over to the NDS officer standing close by.

But Shirzad’s fate remains undecided for now, as the Afghan officials continue their investigation into his crimes and those of other foreign fighters.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA

Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi

Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser

Rating: 4.5/5

RESULTS

Light Flyweight (48kg): Alua Balkibekova (KAZ) beat Gulasal Sultonalieva (UZB) by points 4-1.

Flyweight (51kg): Nazym Kyzaibay (KAZ) beat Mary Kom (IND) 3-2.

Bantamweight (54kg): Dina Zholaman (KAZ) beat Sitora Shogdarova (UZB) 3-2.

Featherweight (57kg): Sitora Turdibekova (UZB) beat Vladislava Kukhta (KAZ) 5-0.

Lightweight (60kg): Rimma Volossenko (KAZ) beat Huswatun Hasanah (INA) KO round-1.

Light Welterweight (64kg): Milana Safronova (KAZ) beat Lalbuatsaihi (IND) 3-2.

Welterweight (69kg): Valentina Khalzova (KAZ) beat Navbakhor Khamidova (UZB) 5-0

Middleweight (75kg): Pooja Rani (IND) beat Mavluda Movlonova (UZB) 5-0.

Light Heavyweight (81kg): Farida Sholtay (KAZ) beat Ruzmetova Sokhiba (UZB) 5-0.

Heavyweight (81 kg): Lazzat Kungeibayeva (KAZ) beat Anupama (IND) 3-2.

The%20specs
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ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

UK-EU trade at a glance

EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years

Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products

Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries

Smoother border management with use of e-gates

Cutting red tape on import and export of food

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Book%20Details
%3Cp%3E%3Cem%3EThree%20Centuries%20of%20Travel%20Writing%20by%20Muslim%20Women%3C%2Fem%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EEditors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESiobhan%20Lambert-Hurley%2C%20Daniel%20Majchrowicz%2C%20Sunil%20Sharma%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EIndiana%20University%20Press%3B%20532%20pages%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Mubalada World Tennis Championship 2018 schedule

Thursday December 27

Men's quarter-finals

Kevin Anderson v Hyeon Chung 4pm

Dominic Thiem v Karen Khachanov 6pm

Women's exhibition

Serena Williams v Venus Williams 8pm

Friday December 28

5th place play-off 3pm

Men's semi-finals

Rafael Nadal v Anderson/Chung 5pm

Novak Djokovic v Thiem/Khachanov 7pm

Saturday December 29

3rd place play-off 5pm

Men's final 7pm

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UK%20record%20temperature
%3Cp%3E38.7C%20(101.7F)%20set%20in%20Cambridge%20in%202019%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
What is graphene?

Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.

It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.

It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.

It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.

Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.

The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.

Fire and Fury
By Michael Wolff,
Henry Holt

Pakistan Super League

Previous winners

2016 Islamabad United

2017 Peshawar Zalmi

2018 Islamabad United

2019 Quetta Gladiators

 

Most runs Kamran Akmal – 1,286

Most wickets Wahab Riaz –65

Gender pay parity on track in the UAE

The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.

"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."

Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.

"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.

As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general. 

Roger Federer's 2018 record

Australian Open Champion

Rotterdam Champion

Indian Wells Runner-up

Miami Second round

Stuttgart Champion

Halle Runner-up

Wimbledon Quarter-finals

Cincinnati Runner-up

US Open Fourth round

Shanghai Semi-finals

Basel Champion

Paris Masters Semi-finals

 

 

WRESTLING HIGHLIGHTS
Bawaal%20
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The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

 

Sly%20Cooper%20and%20the%20Thievius%20Raccoonus
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sucker%20Punch%20Productions%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sony%20Computer%20Entertainment%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlayStation%202%20to%205%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%205%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Traits of Chinese zodiac animals

Tiger:independent, successful, volatile
Rat:witty, creative, charming
Ox:diligent, perseverent, conservative
Rabbit:gracious, considerate, sensitive
Dragon:prosperous, brave, rash
Snake:calm, thoughtful, stubborn
Horse:faithful, energetic, carefree
Sheep:easy-going, peacemaker, curious
Monkey:family-orientated, clever, playful
Rooster:honest, confident, pompous
Dog:loyal, kind, perfectionist
Boar:loving, tolerant, indulgent   

The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%206.5-litre%20V12%20and%20three%20electric%20motors%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E1%2C015hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E1%2C500Nm%20(estimate)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Eight-speed%20dual-clutch%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Early%202024%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh2%20million%20(estimate)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888