The news has yet to be confirmed by the government, which insisted yesterday that the President was hospitalised but in a stable condition. “I will be grateful to everyone who will support my father with prayers”.
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Russian Federation on Tuesday said that reports of the death of Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov remain unconfirmed.
In this Saturday, March 21, 2015 file photo, Uzbekistan’s President Islam Karimov greets people during the festivities marking the Navruz holiday in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Currently, Islam Karimov remains in the intensive care unit.
This was announced by Uzbekistan’s government in an unusual statement.
“According to experts, a full medical examination and follow-up treatment will take a certain time”, the statement added.
However, Kortunov said he doesn’t think the country would be able to hold an open election in the event of Karimov dying or stepping down for health reasons.
Karimov, 78, has ruled the country since before it gained independence from Moscow in 1991.
Karimov later quietly softened his position, allowing Uzbekistan to be part of the Northern Distribution Network, a vital supply route for Afghanistan in the final years of the war. His elder daughter, Gulnara, has not appeared in public since several media including the BBC reported in 2014 that she had been placed under house arrest.
Also present at the banquet were Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Finance Minister Rustam Azimov, both thought to be among Karimov’s potential successors.
Unconfirmed reports claim he has suffered a stroke.
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He has ruled Uzbekistan, Central Asia’s most populous state with 32 million people, with an iron fist since, showing little tolerance of internal dissent.
