By empty (5/15/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Mukhtar Abliyazov, a former energy minister and a founder of the opposition Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) coalition who was jailed in 2002 on charges of abuse of office and who was pardoned this week by President Nursultan Nazarbaev , announced on 14 May that he is leaving politics and going into business, RFE/RL\'s Kazakh Service. Abliyazov said he has withdrawn from DVK because he no longer shares its positions, and he insisted that his release from prison was not connected to his decision to leave the coalition. Abliyazov also sought to smooth over a dispute between his lawyer and the opposition newspaper \"SolDat\" over publication of what were alleged to be chapters of a book he wrote, saying that he did not blame the newspaper for anything and that he might publish something in future.

By empty (5/16/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

The Mazhilis on 15 May approved additions to the country\'s Criminal Code that specify punishments for trafficking in human beings for purposes of sexual or other forms of exploitation. Deputy Justice Minister Irak Elekeev told journalists the adoption of the legislation added a legally defined crime to the Criminal Code --namely, the exportation of people from Kazakhstan or human trafficking. He said the action was necessary because existing laws do not cover the trafficking of people from other countries via Kazakhstan for purposes of sexual or other forms of exploitation.

By empty (5/16/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

An Afghan consulate was formally opened on 14 May in Khorog, the capital of Tajikistan\'s Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO). An agreement on opening the consulate was signed late last year, and the consulate has been functioning since early February. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Afghanistan\'s Ambassador to Tajikistan Muhammed Dovud Panjsheri noted the \"invaluable\" contribution made by Tajikistan\'s President Imomali Rakhmonov to establishing \"peace and accord\" in Afghanistan, as well as the help provided by the GBAO in improving the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.