Relations between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are not quite good, and experts believe that neither of them will benefit from this, a report published in the Millat newspaper on 1 May said. Uzbekistan is against the construction of electric power plants and claims that Dushanbe should build these on the so-called transborder rivers with Tashkent's permission. Tajik authorities claim that former rebel colonel Mahmud Khudoyberdiyev is hiding on the Uzbek territory, whereas Uzbekistan denies this. The following is an excerpt from report by privately-owned Tajik newspaper Millat on 1 May; subheadings inserted editorially:
The settlement of Uzbekistan's problem depends on the heads of the two states. Currently we have good transport communications with the entire world but our relations with our long-standing neighbour and country, some of the representatives of which live in our country and vice versa, does not meet the current situation. A poet says "our country cannot be complete without Samarqand and Buxoro [Uzbek cities]". It is an unforgivable sin not to have strong ties with one's origin. Only one technical flight has been plied between Dushanbe and Tashkent over the years of independence. Unfortunately, such behaviour is inflicting serious damages on the two countries' economies. If the heads of the two states have taken offence at each other, they should reach a compromise for the sake of the two nations who are suffering from this. If they do not do this, the peoples are great and have eyes to see ... I think this is not a serious issue for both nations.
[Passage omitted: more quotes from Bori Karim's article entitled: "We should learn a lesson from the past winter", published by Nigoh on 24 April 2008]
Although people in government corridors and various circles mostly speak in hushed tones about the strained relations between Dushanbe and Tashkent, such views are also sometimes expressed openly. However, this is the first time that the domestic media has openly brought behind-the-scenes talks into the spotlight. Our dispute is not about whether these talks should have been brought to the scene or not, we just want to speak about to what extent these disputes are grounded. If we talked about personal relations between the presidents of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, we could have suggested that relations between the two states depended on the personal reputation or family relationship between the two leaders. As is known, they had established family relationship but the marriage of their children was a failure. However, there is no such a problem in relations between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and that is why one can hardly say that "personal motives" are behind the strained! relations between the two states. We will have to use irrefutable facts and figures in this case. If we do not have evidence of this on hand, we would better use factual evidence on relations between Dushanbe and Tashkent.
It is true that relations between the two neighbouring states are not quite good, and many experts believe that neither of these states will in the end benefit from such relations.
 "Undeclared economic blockade"
However, some people in Tajikistan believe that relations have become strained because of Tashkent's obstruction of the implementation of hydroelectric energy projects in Tajikistan. Some others believe that the rise of prices on food markets and economic difficulties, as well as Uzbek gas and electricity supply cuts in winter, which had a particularly adverse effect during the last cold winter, are behind the deterioration of relations between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Uzbekistan has now imposed an undeclared economic blockade on Tajikistan which has been continuing for over a month. Uzbek customs are holding and not allowing through around 4,000 carriages loaded with goods and products destined for Tajikistan. These also include raw materials and strategic materials for the operation of the Tajik Aluminium Plant. Raw materials do not get spoilt, but some of the goods are food products, which have now been spoilt. Who must compensate for the losses sustained?
Uzbekistan is opposed to the construction of electric power plants and claims that Dushanbe should build these on the so-called transborder rivers with Tashkent's permission. However, are the railways not transborder entities? Is it Tajikistan's fault that its railways run through Uzbekistan? And in line with which international law has the transportation of goods to Tajikistan been restricted? According to this logic, it [Uzbekistan] believes it has the right to block the flow of goods to Tajikistan, but we do not have the right to store water in our reservoirs without its [Uzbekistan's] permission or block water flow without its permission. Where is the logic?
In the first instance, the price rise in Tajikistan depends on the blockade on the transportation of goods through Uzbek territory and only then on the global rise in prices.
This is obviously a sort of pressure on the Tajik political authorities.
 Mahmud Khudoyberdiyev - a thorn in the side
Two weeks ago, media outlets reported that the Tajik state asked Interpol to detain rebel [colonel] Mahmud Khudoyberdiyev as a sign of distrust to its neighbour. It has become clear that Tashkent will not act to detain and hand over the rebel colonel and does not want to cooperate with Tajikistan on this issue.
[Passage omitted: known and covered details]
Uzbekistan, which has repeatedly said that it was not aware about the fact that this group found refuge on its territory, is still not extraditing this group, despite repeated requests from Tajikistan. That is why the Tajik government decided that there was no use requesting the Tashkent government to hand over this group, and it hopes to detain this group with the help of the international police - Interpol.
Meanwhile, a few years ago, a powerful armed opposition group to the government of Uzbekistan led by Jumaboy Namangoniy was, with the cooperation of the Tajik government, was expelled from the country into Afghanistan.
However, today, some experts believe that Tajikistan's request to detain and hand over Mahmud Khudoyberdiyev and its non-response by Uzbekistan can create problems for the whole region. This is because it has been said that Mahmud Khudoyberdiyev used to enjoy support from certain circles in Uzbekistan due to his military and anti-Tajik actions. Tashkent will thus probably not hand over this criminal to Tajikistan. The current government of Uzbekistan has also been using Mahmud Khudoyberdiyev's forces to suppress political uprisings on its territory. That is why, Mahmud Khudoyberdiyev is not considered to be a refugee, but a loyal person to Islom Karimov, who has a hand in the existence of the foundation of his statehood.
That is why some people in view of the current state of relations between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan believe that the appeal from Interpol to detain Mahmud Khudoyberdiyev will have an impact on the region's prospects and the future presence of transregional powers in Central Asia and other related affairs.
These experts believe that this progress will lay the groundwork for the interference of a number of opportunity-seeking international organizations and transregional powers in the affairs of Central Asian states and turn the fate of these states into a plaything of power-seeking countries. That is why it is ridiculous to attribute this complicated regional problem to relations between two peoples. Is this not so?
P.S. Mahmud Khudoyberdiyev and his armed group launched an attack from the territory of Uzbekistan in the north of Tajikistan on 4 November 1998 and after a defeat they again fled to the territory of Uzbekistan. On 11 October 2001. Russian media outlets, including the Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper, reported that Mahmud Khudoyberdiyev had died in a car incident. However, after a short time this report was denied. Many people believe that Khudoyberdiyev is still in Uzbekistan together with a considerable number of his supporters deployed in a military camp in the area of Darai Nihon in Surxondaryo Region. At a news conference in Dushanbe in October 2002, Islom Karimov's skillful evasive response to the question asked by a Radio Liberty reporter Rahmatkarim Davlat concerning Mahmud Khudoyberdiyev and his accomplices' finding a refuge in the area of Darai Nihon on Uzbek territory drew the attention of participants.
The Tajik prosecutor-general, Bobojon Bobokhonov, in October 2007 on Khudoyberdiyev's fate said: "Mahmud Khudoyberdiyev's military party, together with its armed acolytes, is living on the territory of Uzbekistan. He is a leader of a criminal organization and this criminal group has caused suffering to hundreds of thousands of residents of both Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Have you forgotten the 2005 events in Uzbekistan? That was also done by Mahmud Khudoyberdiyev."