Uzbekistan security chief leaves post

Uzbekistan's security chief Rustam Inoyatov has been removed after 23 years in the post at a meeting on Wednesday chaired by the country's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

Inoyatov was replaced by the former prosecutor-general Ikhtiyor Abdullayev, local media reported. 

President Mirziyoyev has been implementing wide-ranging reforms since coming to power in 2016, following the death of longtime leader Islam Karimov.

They include liberalising the currency, improving relations with neighbours, freeing some political prisoners and calling on mass media and others to adopt a more critical stance, BBC reported.