The University of Central Asia in Khorog has appealed the decision of the Supreme Economic Court of Tajikistan regarding the nationalization of the land plot of the educational institution, the chairman of the WEC said at a press conference in Dushanbe.
The prosecutor’s office of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region demanded that the land plot in Khorog, on which the University of Central Asia was built, be returned to the state. This piece of land in the Dashtak mahalla of Khorog was acquired by the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) in the late 1990s. The GBAO prosecutor’s office stated that the purchase and sale of the land plot was not entirely legal.
Rustam Mirzozoda, Chairman of the Supreme Economic Court of Tajikistan, at a press conference on August 7, in response to a question from Radio Ozodi about the lawsuit filed by the GBAO prosecutor’s office against UCA regarding the nationalization of a land plot, said that the lawsuit of the supervisory body was satisfied.
“According to Art. 25 of the Land Code of Tajikistan, land plots can be provided to foreign citizens and foreign legal entities for fixed-term use for up to 50 years. Unfortunately, when drawing up the sale and purchase agreement, the parties did not take into account this article of the Land Code,” the head of the WEC noted.
Rustam Mirzozoda added that UCA filed a cassation appeal against the decision of the WEC, but it has not yet been considered.
The University of Central Asia was founded in 2000. The agreement to establish this university is signed by the presidents of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, as well as Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, the spiritual leader of the Ismailis of the world. This agreement was ratified by the parliaments of these three countries and registered with the UN.
The University of Central Asia is not the only site of the Aga Khan network that the Tajik authorities intend to nationalize. Last month, the Aga Khan Lyceum in Khorog was closed, which, according to some reports, will be transformed into a school for gifted children and will belong to the Ministry of Education and Science of Tajikistan.
Earlier, the Serena Khorog INN hotel, owned by the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development AKFED, was nationalized and transferred to the administration of GBAO. Khorog Serena Inn is located in the Khorog Tem microdistrict and is decorated in the style of a Pamir house.
Last year, the GBAO authorities transferred the city park of Khorog, owned by the Aga Khan Foundation, to state ownership.
It is reported that the GBAO prosecutor’s office filed a lawsuit with the court regarding the nationalization of the Aga Khan Foundation Medical Center in the Khorog mahalla Barkhorug. The Aga Khan Medical Center is part of the Aga Khan Health Service and was completed in 2018. The Aga Khan Foundation allocated $25 million for its construction.
Source: Ozodi
