'Rampant corruption' of key US ally Uzbekistan

Leaked diplomatic cables reveal Uzbekistan, key US ally in the war in Afghanistan, to be a state riddled with organized crime and 'rampant corruption', the Guardian reports.

More bizarrely, many of the cables focus on President Islam Karimov's daughter, Gulnara, who is branded the 'most hated person in the country.'

Uzbekistan is a key link in what the US calls its northern distribution network, which brings supplies to forces in Afghanistan.

But the WikiLeaks cables from the US ambassador reveal the President threatened to cut off the supply after Hilary Clinton presented an award to a human rights advocate in the country, Reuters reports.

Karimov allegedly showed his displeasure in 'icy tones'.

'We have a number of important issues on the table right now, including the Afghanistan transit (NDN) framework', the ambassador cabled back.

Ambassador Richard Norland reported an 'implicit threat to suspend transit of cargo for American forces in Afghanistan via the northern distribution network,' Reuters reported.

'Clearly, pressuring him (especially publicly) could cost us transit,' the ambassador wrote.

The first daughter

In addition to a brazen approach to its US ally, the cables reveal the outlandish and privileged nature of Karimov's daughter Gulnara.

According to the Guardian newspaper, Gulnara was seen arriving at a Tashkent nightclub in a 4WD Porsche, a rarity in the country, where foreign hard liquor was served – illegal in Uzbekistan.

Gulnara, listed as a professor at at Tashkent's University of World Economy and Diplomacy, the Guardian reports, sings pop songs, and has 'allegedly bullied her way into gaining a slice of virtually every lucrative business in the central Asian state', according to the paper.

'Most Uzbeks see Karimova as a greedy, power-hungry individual who uses her father to crush business people or anyone else who stands in her way … She remains the single most hated person in the country', Reuters reported the cables as saying.