DUSHANBE, May 7, Asia-Plus  -- Tajikistan will not develop efficiently until middle class is created, Poulat Shozimov, head of the Western Philosophy Department within the Institute of Philosophy of the Academy of Sciences, said in an interview with Asia-Plus.

“It is impossible to provide economic security without stable middle class,” said Shozimov.  “Moreover, property stratification of the population gains ground in countries, where middle class is dropped [from the population].”  

According to him, the government has practically lost control over formation of the middle class in the country, and “at present, this process is going on in informal sectors.” 

“One can say that middle-class formation in Tajikistan is currently being realized under control of religious networks,” the expert said.  “It is normal within the framework of political Islam, which works within parameters of national-cultural and religious traditions,” said Shozimov,  “But if Pan-Islamism networks take over the initiative of this process, it will have serious political consequences for Tajikistan in the future.”