BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 8
Trend:
A meeting of the operational headquarters was held under the chairmanship of the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Trend reports via Kazinform.
During the meeting, the prosecutor general, chairman of the National Security Committee, acting interior and defense ministers delivered reports.
The president instructed to pay special attention to the restoration of administrative, social and communal facilities, infrastructure of Almaty city and other regions affected by terrorist attacks.
The meeting participants noted that the performance of security functions by the divisions of the united peacekeeping contingent of CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) in Nur-Sultan allowed decrease load of a part of Kazakh law enforcement agencies and redeploy them to Almaty to take part in the counter-terrorist operation.
Tokayev gave specific instructions to ensure the coordinated and efficient work of the involved structures to stabilize the situation for the interests of the country citizens.
Kazakhstan's government announced late Jan. 4 that it was restoring some price caps on liquefied petroleum gas, after the rare protests reached Almaty following a sharp rise in the price of the fuel at the start of the year.
Many Kazakhs have converted their cars to run on LPG, which is far cheaper than gasoline as a vehicle fuel in Kazakhstan because of price caps. But the government argued that the low price was unsustainable and lifted the caps on Jan. 1.
After the price of the fuel spiked, big demonstrations erupted on Jan. 2 in certain parts of the country. Public protests are illegal in the country unless their organizers file a notice in advance.
Following the development of the situation, the government declared a state of emergency all over the country. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said the government initiated anti-terrorist operations to deal with the ongoing riots.
Also, the divisions of the united peacekeeping contingent of CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) arrived in Kazakhstan to assist in restoring order and help protect strategic objects of the country.