DUSHANBE, January 11, 2013, Asia-Plus  -- The Committee for TV and Radio-broadcasting cannot grant a broadcasting license to the Islamic Revival Party (IRP) of Tajikistan until it prepares all necessary documents, Asadullo Rahmonov, Chairman the Committee fro TV and Radio-broadcasting under the Government of Tajikistan, announced at  news conference in Dushanbe on January 11.

According to him, they have sent the list of all documents required to obtain the broadcasting license.

We will recall that the IRP submitted an application for registration of the IRP TV station for consideration to the Committee for TV and Radio-broadcasting on December 18, 2012.  “Our station will cover the whole territory of the country,” the source at IRP’s head office told Asia-Plus in an interview on December 19.  “We hope that our party will be the first political party in Tajikistan to have its own TV station.”

Meanwhile, Vohidkhon Qosiddin, a senior representative of the Islamic Revival Party, told Asia-Plus on January 11 that they have received a letter from the Committee for TV and Radio-broadcasting and they are currently collecting the necessary documents.  He also noted that the office of the party’s TV station would probably be located at IRP’s headquarters.

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 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.