Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has conveyed his condolences to the family and people of Uzbekistan over the demise of President Islam Karimov.
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The 78-year-old Karimov was the only leader independent Uzbekistan ever had.
Karimov was buried in the cemetery in Samarkand, near the tombs of his parents.
Uzbekistan president Islam Karimov has died, leaving no obvious successor to lead Central Asia’s most populus country.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev flew in for the funeral, along with leaders from former Soviet republics, including Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, and the prime ministers of Kyrgyzstan, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
President Karimov died at the age of 78 after suffering a stroke.
Karimov, who had served as president of the newly independent republic since 1991, suffered a brain hemorrhage on August 27.
Karimov was the first foreign leader to ban the activities of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization, or FETO, in his country following the July 15 defeated coup in Turkey.
Uzbek state television showed footage of mourners carrying Karimov’s coffin through a crowd on the historic square encircled by blue-domed madrassas. The body was then taken to the Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, another architecturally significant site, for burial. He crushed opposition, repressed the media and was repeatedly denounced by activists overseas for human rights violations including killings and torture.
The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee has condoled the passing away of H. E. Mr Islam Karimov, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
Islam Karimov was born in Samarkand province of Uzbekistan.
However, the event in Samarkand – Karimov’s home city – will be overseen by Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
If the elite fail to agree among themselves on a transition, the resulting instability could be exploited by Islamist militants who in the past have staged violent attacks in Uzbek cities and want to make Uzbekistan part of an Islamic caliphate.
Over the years, the group has been affiliated with the Taliban, al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, and it has sent fighters overseas.
Under Uzbek law, senate head Nigmatulla Yuldashev would act as president until early elections are held.
According to the government of Uzbekistan, at 8.15 PM local time the only President of Uzbekistan had a cardiac arrest, but his biological death was pronounced only at 8.55 PM.
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His troops reportedly killed hundreds unarmed demonstrators with machine guns during a 2005 uprising.
