TASHKENT. March 6 (Interfax) - Bakhritdin Khakimov, a native of Uzbekistan, who had been considered missing in Afghanistan since 1980 and who was found in the Herat Province in February 2013, could see his relatives soon in the Samarkand region, Eson Khasanov, the leader of a regional branch of the Uzbek Association of Veterans (Internationalists), told journalists.
"This issue should be considered within a week," Khasanov said.
Khakimov's parents have died, but he has a brother, Khasanov said. "His only brother, Sharof Khakimov, a retired police lieutenant-colonel, recognized his brother in a photo," he said.
Khakimov was born in Samarkand and served with the 101st Infantry Regiment near Herat. He was badly wounded in September 1980, after which locals took care of him, and a village elder specializing in herbalism nursed him back to health. Khakimov himself started to practice herbalism and is currently leading a semi-nomadic lifestyle. He has no identification documents, Khasanov said.
Khakimov has been found owing to efforts by the Committee for Internationalist Veterans' Affairs under the CIS Council of Heads of Government.