Other rumors connected the chief's family to militias that smuggled drugs and weapons across the Tajikistan border.
Later that year, Uzbekistan began laying mines along the Tajikistan border, creating a serious new regional issue and intensifying Uzbekistan's image as a regional hegemon.
The river is 1,125 km long and forms a considerable part of the Afghanistan - Tajikistan border.
Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east.
It lies almost exactly on the Tajikistan border where it is connected via the M41 highway.
Ghar Javin is located just across the Tajikistan border near Khorog.
Uzbekistan has also reported several cases of polio near the Tajikistan border.
The south side is the Trans-Alay Range along the Tajikistan border, with Lenin Peak, (7134m).
The dead are among more than 100 engineers and workers engaged on a World Bank project to build a road from Kabul to the Tajikistan border.
It is located between Lake Shiva and the Panj River, at an altitude of 3100m near the Tajikistan border.