Uzbekistan leader Karimov in critical condition - Cabinet

"With a heavy heart that we inform you that in the past 24 hours the condition of our president saw a sharp deterioration and is considered critical by the doctors," a Friday statement released by Uzbekistan’s Cabinet says.

"As it was reported earlier, the head of our state, Islam Abdugʻaniyevich Karimov was hospitalized last Saturday after having suffered a stroke," the statement says.