INTERNATIONAL: The new government of Kazakhstan took office after being sworn in on Wednesday. The first meeting of the new government was presided over by the country's new Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov, who was nominated by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev one day ago.

The parliament of Kazakhstan elected Alikhan Smailov as the new Prime Minister on Tuesday.

The 49-year-old official previously served as Kazakhstan’s finance minister from 2018 to 2020. In 2019, he became the first Deputy Prime Minister in the Cabinet which was dismissed by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev during last week’s violent protests in the country that began over spiking fuel prices.

After days of fierce demonstrations in the resource-rich Central Asian nation, during which Tokayev ordered the police and army to shoot protesters on sight, around 9,900 people have been arrested.

Foreign troops are also set to withdraw from the country, Tokayev has told Parliament on Tuesday. The main mission of the Collective Security Treaty Organization troops has been completed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who sent troops across the border into Kazakhstan to help quell the unrest, has accused external forces of orchestrating the riots. He has said, “The events in Kazakhstan are not the first and far from the last attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of our states from the outside.”

At the meeting, held both online and offline, the new Prime Minister, Smailov, stressed that the primary tasks for the current government are to fulfill the instructions of President Tokayev, improve the quality of people's lives, sustain the economic growth momentum, combat the COVID-19 pandemic, repair the damage caused by the recent riots, and pull the country out of a massive crisis.

The situation in Kazakhstan has become more stable now. Of the 20 airports in the country, 18 have resumed their operation. All railway stations are opened, and access restrictions on national highways have been lifted.

Meanwhile, the public transport system and passenger rail transport system in cities have resumed operation as well.

Violent protests sparked by fuel price hikes rocked Kazakhstan for several days, leading to multiple deaths and many injuries.

The press service of the President said on Sunday that some 5,800 people were detained in Kazakhstan amid the riots, including a number of foreigners.

In response to the protests, Tokayev has accepted the previous government's resignation, and has sought help from the Collective Security Treaty Organization to put an end to the mounting unrest.