Thousands lined the streets. The initial message followed days of unofficial reports Mr Karimov was near to death after he suffered a stroke last week.
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Saturday’s funeral comes amid uncertainty over who will succeed him.
All the former Soviet states of Central Asia remained under authoritarian rule after the Soviet Union dissolved in December 1991; Karimov’s regime in Uzbekistan was one of the region’s most repressive.
The official announcement of Islam Karimov’s death came on Friday night. Uzbek authorities also confirmed the longtime leader’s death, but only after several foreign leaders sent their condolences.
The President of Georgia, Giorgi Margvelashvili, also expressed condolences in a statement on the presidential website.
At dawn, a black Mercedes van carrying the body of Karimov, who died of a stroke aged 78, drove slowly along Tashkent’s main thoroughfare. He died on Friday after his heart stopped for a second time, the statement says, and a team of doctors – including foreign specialists – could not resuscitate him.
It was often the case in Soviet times, reports CNN, that the leader of the funeral commission was the one to take over the role of leader.
Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev has been designated mourner-in-chief at Karimov’s funeral, which is seen as a strong hint he might become the next president.
At the foot of the aircraft steps stood Karimov’s wife, Tatiana, and his younger daughter, Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva, who was dabbing her eyes with a white handkerchief. Police there have cordoned off the centre of the city.
But he assessed, “There’s a good chance” that Karimov’s successor continues the same independent policies, noting that most Uzbek elites share Karimov’s views.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and the presidents of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan were among dignitaries attending the memorial service on the famed UNESCO World Heritage site of Registan Square.
President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi today condoled the passing away of Islam Karimov, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
The Uzbek Constitution states that if the president is unable to perform his duties the head of the upper chamber of parliament assumes presidential authority for a period of three months.
Political analysts do not consider Yuldashev to be a long-term successor to Karimov.
Mr Mirziyoyev has been in office since 2003.
The spectacular fall from grace of Gulnara Karimova – a pop-singing, corruption-tainted socialite once seen as a possible heir to her father’s throne – appeared to show just how far Karimov was willing to go to keep his iron grip on power. “I am struggling for words, I can’t believe it myself”.
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Law enforcement and security services grew increasingly powerful and abusive, and the use of torture in prisons was labeled “systematic” by worldwide observers.
