Celebrations to mark the anniversary of independence have been cancelled in Tashkent

Almaty. August 31. Silkroadnews – The official celebrations of Independence Day expected to take place at the National Park of Uzbekistan named after Alisher Navoi on August 31, where the president Islam Karimov traditionally gives a speech, have been cancelled in Tashkent, a source in the government circles reported to Trend on Tuesday.

With this the Tashkent khokimiyat – the administration of the city – on its website reported that the festivities will be held on all the central squares and parks in Tashkent.

Officially, there have been no announcements about the festivities being canceled at the moment.

Cancellation of major celebrations is related to the illness of the President.

Meanwhile, the RBC writes, the Independence Day celebrations scheduled for September 1 will be scaled down: the concert to be held in the center of Tashkent has been canceled.

In their turn, the Uzbek media citing unnamed sources inform that Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev will be congratulating the population during the Independence Day holiday.

To remind, on August 28 the Cabinet of Ministers of Uzbekistan reported the President Karimov has been hospitalized and «a full medical examination and after-treatment will take a certain period of time».

On August 29 the daughter of the head of the state Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva on her page in Instagram and Facebook wrote that her father was hospitalized as «suffered a brain hemorrhage» and «is in the intensive care unit».

I. Karimov, 78-year-old, has been a leader of Uzbekistan since 1989.