DUSHANBE, March 14, 2012, Asia-Plus  -- A meeting of activists of the Islamic Revival Party (IRP), presided over by its leader, Muhiddin Kabiri, took place in Qurghon Teppa, the capital of Khatlon province on March 13.

According to IRP’s headquarters in Dushanbe, more than 400 members and supporters of the IRP attended the meeting that took place at the transformer plant.

The meeting reportedly focused on the intra-party issues and the current political situation in the country.

“Speaking at the meeting, Kabiri noted that there are certain forces and some persons in the government circles that want to discredit the Islamic Revival Party among the population and blacken its position on separate issues,” the source said.

We will recall that some media sources report that zvezda.ru (Polyarnaya Zvezda) on March 1 published an article entitled “Tajikistan on the Eve of Revolution.”  The article reportedly covered a meeting in which President Emomali Rahmon allegedly ordered security services to increase surveillance of local religious groups and members of the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan.

Founded in October 1990, the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan was registered on December 4, 1991.  It was banned by the Supreme Court in June 1993 and legalized in August 1999.  Its official newspaper is Najot (Salvation).  According to some sources, IRP now has some 25,000-30,000 members.  It won two seats in the 2010 parliamentary elections.  The Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan is the only Islamic party registered in CIS Central Asia.