Uzbekistan strongman Karimov dies

TASHKENT/MOSCOW: Uzbekistan’s President Islam Karimov died on Friday, the country’s government and parliament said in a joint statement, ending more than 25 years of his iron-fisted rule in the Central Asian nation with no clear successor lined up.

“Dear compatriots, it is with huge grief in our hearts that we announce to you the death of our dear president,” a state TV presenter said, reading the official statement.

Authorities said Karimov, 78, was pronounced dead at 8:55 pm local time following days of speculation that authorities were delaying confirmation of his death after he suffered a stroke over the weekend. The strongman’s funeral will be held in Samarkand on Saturday as the country begins three days of mourning, the statement said.

Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev will head the committee charged with organising his funeral, suggesting that he could be in line to take over from Karimov.

Born on January 30, 1938, Karimov was raised in an orphanage in Samarkand, before studying mechanical engineering and economics and rising up the ranks of the Communist Party to become head of Soviet Uzbekistan in 1989.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 3^rd, 2016.