In recent days, several incidents set off alarm bells in Tashkent over the sudden deterioration in the situation and a reluctance to let Afghani military absconders into Uzbekistan.

Uzbekistan ranked 146 out of 180 countries and territories in the 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) by Transparency International, well below its neighbour and closes trade partner Kazakhstan, which ranked 94.

The resource-rich Central Asian nation of 34 million had been led by Mirziyoyev, who took over in late 2016 following the death of veteran leader Islam Karimov, who had run Uzbekistan with an iron fist for 27 years.

Uzbekistan increased its renewable energy target to a total of 12 gigawatts by 2030.