October 1                     - Tajikistan began its autumn draft.

October 2-3                   - Sir William Patey, British Ambassador to Afghanistan visited Dushanbe.  During his visit, Sir William Patey met Erkin Rahmatulloyev, State Adviser to the President of Tajikistan for Foreign Policy; General Ramil Nadyrov, First Deputy Minister of Defence; and officials of the Tajik Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  Sir William Patey also met with Abdulghafour Arezou, Ambassador of Afghanistan to Tajikistan, and members of the international development community.  He was accompanied to these meetings by the British Ambassador to Tajikistan, Trevor Moore.  The purpose of Sir William Patey’s visit was to familiarize himself further with Tajikistan’s policy towards Afghanistan.  During his meetings Sir William Patey also described British policy towards Afghanistan and the wider region.   

October 3                     - President Emomali Rahmon signed a decree on the targeted use of plots of land.  The decree prohibits bargains on land plots allotted to the vulnerable citizens for housing.  It, in particular, prohibits the sale or donation of these land plots;

- Indian Defence Minister Arakkaparambil Kurian Antony had a short stopover in Dushanbe on his way to Moscow.  At the Dushanbe airport, he was met by his Tajik counterpart Sherali Khairulloyev.  The two reportedly discussed issues being of mutual interest, including the current situation in Afghanistan.  They expressed interest in further expansion of military and technical cooperation between Tajikistan and India.

October 3-7                   - Mr. Saber Azam, UNHCR Regional Representative/Regional Coordinator for Central Asia visited Tajikistan.  Mr. Azam’s mission was aimed at strengthening further the relationship of UNHCR with the Tajik authorities and discussing new areas of cooperation.

October 4                     - President Emomali Rahmon visited Hisor district, where he attended a ceremony of introducing the first line of a spinning mill into operation.

October 5                     - Tajikistan marked State Language Day;

- Construction of a gigantic new mosque officially commenced in Dushanbe.  When completed in three or four years, Tajikistan will be home to the largest mosque in the post-Soviet area, dwarfing the Turkmenbashi mosque in neighboring Turkmenistan, which can hold 10,000 people.  The mosque in Dushanbe will hold 115,000 worshippers when completed.  Qatar is putting up 70 percent of the cost of the project, with Tajikistan raising the rest.

October 7                     - U.S. Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan Ambassador Marc Grossman visited Tajikistan to build support for the vision of a secure, stable, and prosperous Afghanistan in a secure, stable, and prosperous region.  He met with President Emomali Rahmon to discuss the upcoming Conference for Security and Cooperation in the Heart of Asia in Istanbul on November 2 and the International Afghanistan Conference in Bonn on December 5, to express thanks for Tajikistan’s support of NATO efforts in Afghanistan, and to discuss issues of mutual concern.  Ambassador Grossman reiterated the United States’ intention to continue cooperation with the Tajik government in the future.  President Rahmon expressed support for the proposed revival of the ancient Silk Road.

October 11                    - President Emomali Rahmon held talks with Mr. Jan Fischer, the Vice President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).  The sides discussed state and prospects of further expansion of cooperation between Tajikistan and the Bank.

October 12                    - A trial of two pilots working for Rolkan Investments Limited began in Qurghon Teppa, the capital of Khatlon province.  Captain Vladimir Sadovnichiy (national of Russia) and Captain Aleksey Rudenko (national of Estonia) are charged with violation of rules of international flights (Article 218 of Tajikistan’s Peal Code), smuggling (Article 289) and illegal border crossing (Article 335).  Rolkan Investments Limited, which is domiciled in the British Virgin Islands, is reportedly engaged in transporting humanitarian cargo to Afghanistan.

October 12-13               - A meeting of ombudsmen from Central Asia’s countries took place in Dushanbe.  A regional workshop entitled “Principles Relating to the Status of National Human Rights Institutions (The Paris Principles) and role of National Human Rights Institutions in Prevention of Torture in Central Asia” was held on the sidelines of the meeting.  The workshop discussed issues related to development of the national human rights protection systems in the region, the national human rights institutions (NHRI) requirements and their role in prevention of torture in Central Asia, cooperation of ombudsmen with the UN Agencies, international human rights protection system, civil society, media, etc.

October 13                    - Nozirjon Yodgori, a spokesman for the Barqi Tojik state electricity company, announced the imposition of a new rationing for electricity supplies throughout the country.  The rationing has gone into effect in the regions, with the exception of the capital Dushanbe and other large cities of the country.

October 14                    - A court in Khujand freed Mahmadyusuf Ismoilov, a regional reporter for the Dushanbe-based independent weekly Nouri Zindagi , who was facing 16 years imprisonment on charges related to his professional activities.  The court, however, barred Ismoilov from journalistic work for three years and ordered him to pay a 35,000-somoni fine for causing moral damages with his articles that criticized local authorities;

- In a separate court in Khujand, Urunboy Usmonov, the BBC reporter in Sughd province, was sentenced to three years imprisonment -- but set free under an amnesty law.  He was found guilty of failing to inform the authorities about his contacts with the banned Islamic organization, Hizb ut-Tahrir.  Four other men were tried along with Usmonov in the same court in the northern Tajik town of Khujand. The men were found guilty of Hizb ut-Tahrir membership and were given prison sentences ranging between 20 and 22 years.

October 15                    President Emomali Rahmon visited gold mining enterprises in the Shugnou jamoat of Khovaling district, Khatlon province.

October 17-19               - The Minister of State for International Development of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Alan Duncan visited Tajikistan.  Mr. Duncan, who is the member of the UK Parliament, met with the high level officials of Tajikistan and had a field visit to the south of the country.  The main objectives of the visit were to underline the UK Government’s intent to remain engaged with, and supportive of, Tajikistan and to encourage deepening of economic reform in Tajikistan.

October 18-22               - General Baz Mohammad Ahmadi, Deputy Minister of Interior for Counter-Narcotics, heading an Afghan government delegation, visited Tajikistan.  The main purpose of the visit was for the delegation to discuss ways of expansion of cooperation between Afghan and Tajik special services in combating drug trafficking and conducting joint operations on neutralization of transnational crime groups.

October 19-20               - The prepcom conference “Towards the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (RIO +20): Water Cooperation Issues” was held in Dushanbe.  

October 20-21               - Iranian Parliament (Majlis-e Shoura-ye Eslami) Speaker Ali Larijani heading Iranian parliamentary delegation visited Tajikistan.  Iranian parliament speaker met with a number of high-ranking Tajik state officials to discuss state and prospects of further expansion of bilateral cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Tajikistan.  

October 21-22               - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited Tajikistan.  During her first official visit to Tajikistan, Secretary Clinton met with President Emomali Rahmon and Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi to discuss a broad range of bilateral and regional issues.  She also held a town hall with civil society in Dushanbe.

October 24                    - A fire that broke out at the cotton-ginning factory belonging to prominent religious leader and former deputy prime minister Hoji Akbar Turajonzoda destroyed some 500 bales of processed cotton.  Hoji Akbar Turajonzoda told Asia-Plus that the fire broke out at the cotton ginnery’s warehouse at around 3:00 am and it was extinguished only by 7:00 am.  The cotton ginnery owner considers that it was an arson attack.  Turajonzoda purchased the Vahdat cotton-ginning factory at auction in 2000;  

- Director of the Drug Control Agency (DCA) under the President of Tajikistan, Rustam Nazarov met in Dushanbe with Afghan Minister of Counter Narcotics Zarar Ahmad Moqbel Osmani and UNODC Country Office Representative for Afghanistan Jean-Luc Lemahieu.  Issues related to strengthening of joint fight against drug trafficking were the focus the meeting.

October 25                    - The Human Rights Dialogue between the Republic of Tajikistan and the European Union took place for the fourth time in Dushanbe.  The dialogue was held in a businesslike atmosphere, with an exchange on a wide range of issues of mutual interest or concern, as well as discussions on possibilities for concrete cooperation in the field of human rights.

October 26                    - President Emomali Rahmon met with Afghan Vice-President Mohammad Qasim Fahim and Afghan Minister of Energy and Water Resources Mohammad Ismail Khan in Dushanbe;  

-Tajik Ombudsman Zarif Alizoda and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Lukin, signed an agreement in Moscow on mutual cooperation.  The agreement reportedly enumerates the rights of Tajik citizens in Russia and Russian citizens in Tajikistan;

- The first meeting of the Tajik-Belarusian Business Council took place in Dushanbe.  Organized by the Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CCIs) of both countries, the meeting resulted in signing of the Regulations on Activities of the Tajik-Belarusian Business Council.   

October 27                    - An electric power line linking a hydroelectric power plant in Tajikistan with the Afghan city of Pul-i Khumri was formally inaugurated by officials from both countries.  Tajik Prime Minister Oqil Oqilov, Afghan Vice President Mohammad Qasim Fahim, and Afghan Minister of Energy and Water Resources Mohammad Ismail Khan attended the ceremony in the Tajik southern Khatlon province, where the Sangtuda hydroelectric power plant (HPP) is located.  Construction of the 281-kilometer power line (118 kilometers on Tajik territory and 163 kilometers in Afghanistan) began in 2009 and was financed primarily by long-term, low-interest loans from the Asian Development Bank;

- The second international song festival, entitled “The Sky of Commonwealth,” took place in Dushanbe;

- The second meeting of the Tajik-Polish intergovernmental commission for trade and economic cooperation took place in Dushanbe

October 27-29               - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko paid an official visit to Tajikistan.  Seven cooperation agreements were signed during his visit to Tajikistan.  One agreement allows Tajik and Belarusian citizens to be allowed temporary employment in each other''s countries.  Another pact covers deepening economic cooperation through 2015.

October 29                    - By president’s decree Deputy Foreign Minister, Nizomiddin Zohidov, has been simultaneously appointed Tajik President’s Special Representative for Afghanistan.

October 30                    - His Highness the Aga Khan, founder and Chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) and Imam (spiritual leader) of the Ismaili Muslims, arrived in Dushanbe on a three-day visit to Tajikistan.

October 31                    - His Highness the Aga Khan, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and Afghan Minister of Public Works Abdul Qudus Hamidi performed the foundation stone ceremony for the Shouroobod Bridge, which will be the fifth bridge to connect Tajikistan and Afghanistan within the framework of regional initiatives of AKDN.