Government pressure forced the Tajik-language political weekly Farazh to shut down in the first week of October.

On November 12 the weekly was back on stands as part of a joint publication with the Russian-language weekly Fakty i kommentarii.

But the paper’s new lease of life could be short. Tajik media expert Mukhtor Boqizoda stressed that while Fakty i kommentarii showed commendable journalistic solidarity by hosting another newspaper, it cannot do so on a permanent basis as each newspaper has its own readership.

The head of Tajikistan’s Union of Journalists, Akbar Sattor, agreed. He said Farazh should look for a permanent solution to its problems.