Itar-Tass
24-SEP-98
DUSHANBE,
September 24 (Itar-Tass) -- The spiritual leader of
the world
Ishmaelites, Prince Aga Khan IV, who is paying a week-
long visit
to Tajikistan at the invitation of President emomali
Rakhmonov,
on Thursday left for the Gorno-Badakhshan
autonomous
region where the most populous diaspora of
Ishmaelites
resides.
The spiritual
leader of the murids, the followers of the "living
God,"
or crown prince Aga Khan IV, is accompanied on the
Badakhshan
journey, just as during his visit to Tajikistan in May
1995,
by President Emomali Rakhmonov.
During
his stay in Khorog, the administrative centre of the
autonomous
region, Aga Khan IV and the Tajik head of state will
meet the
region's leaders and public, and visit a number of
educational
establishments. they are also expected to hold informal
meetings
with the residents of the city and neighbouring villages.
The visitors
will also attend a festive opening ceremony at a school
built
with assistance from the Aga Khan fund.
The republic
as a whole and Badakhshan in particular value highly
Aga Khan's
appreciable humanitarian aid to the population of this
highland
area. His aid was of special importance during the armed
confrontation
in the country from 1992 and a number of
subsequent
years.
During
the current visit, further cooperation and Aga Khan's
participation
in a number of major humanitarian projects is being
considered.
The Prince has already held conversations with
Tajikistan
President Emomali Rakhmonov, Prime Minister Yakhye
Azimov
and other leaders of the republic, as well as the chairman
of the
National Reconciliation commission, Tajik opposition leader
Sayed
Abdullo Nouri.
vfp/
--
MZ