KAZAKHSTAN has detained former Defense Minister Murat Bektanov after prosecutors launched a probe against him for failing to fulfill his duties during violent unrest last month, the prosecutor general’s office said yesterday.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has described the deadliest unrest in the nation’s history as an attempted coup, and another senior security official, a former head of the national security committee, has been arrested on charges of treason and abuse of office.

Tokayev sacked Bektanov as minister last month, saying he had shown no initiative during the unrest. The authorities say they are still investigating the January events; they have named no culprits aside from the former security boss and a few of his deputies. (SD-Agencies)