The key facts

  • On October 13, 2026, the bill was passed in the first reading by the Legislative Chamber
  • It is proposed to reduce service by one month for conscripts — prize winners of the reading contest “Ma’naviyat qalqoni”
  • New contracts are also envisaged with graduates of flight specialties of military universities, including foreign ones

Bill passed in the first reading

On October 13, 2026, the Legislative Chamber (lower house of parliament) of Uzbekistan passed in the first reading a bill introducing amendments and additions to the law “On Universal Military Duty and Military Service.” The bill was presented by Kozimjon Tojiyev, a member of the Committee on International Affairs, Defense and Security. According to him, the bill is aimed at improving the procedure for organizing and performing military service, incentivizing servicemen, and effectively using the professional potential of qualified flight specialists. As Kun.uz notes, adoption in the first reading does not mean that the service-term reduction procedure has already entered into force.

Service reduction for success in the reading contest

The draft provides for an incentive measure: a reduction of the service term by one month for conscripts who took prize places in the national reading contest “Ma’naviyat qalqoni.” The authors of the initiative believe this will increase servicemen’s interest in reading books, promote the development of a reading culture and the spiritual and intellectual potential of servicemen.

Deputy’s proposal on the reduction procedure

During the discussion, deputy Zuxriddin Mavlonov noted that the current Article 5 of the law sets the term of conscript military service at 12 months, so the rule on reducing the term by one month for contest winners should be clearly enshrined in the law itself. He also proposed making the term reduction dependent on the serviceman’s wish: a contest winner may not want to complete service in 11 months and may prefer to serve the full 12 months together with other servicemen and take part in the closing events. In this regard, he proposed a provision under which the reduction of the service term is carried out on the basis of the serviceman’s application.

Measures for flight personnel

Another direction of the bill concerns retaining qualified flight personnel for military aviation. It is proposed to establish legal grounds for concluding new contracts with graduates of flight specialties of higher military educational institutions, including foreign ones. This should ensure stability of pilots’ professional activity, growth of their qualifications and experience, and satisfaction of the Armed Forces’ need for qualified personnel. Kozimjon Tojiyev emphasized that the effective and safe operation of modern aviation equipment and maintaining the combat readiness of aviation units require high professional skill, special training, and many years of practical experience. According to him, the new provisions will contribute to the development of military aviation and the strengthening of the country’s air border defense potential.

Preparation and approval of the draft

In preparing the bill, the experience of foreign states was studied. The draft was coordinated with the ministries and agencies that are part of the Armed Forces and received a positive conclusion from the Ministry of Justice. Following the discussion, it was passed in the first reading.