TAJIKISTAN 2009. In the village of Shohi Safed by the Zerafshan river in the Zerafshan valley. Muholol "General" Ahmedov (73), picking currants from a tree. Next to him are two water irrigation pipes that span the Zerafshan river. The villages along the Zerafshan river are irrigated farmlands, creating a green belt all along the valley, with arid hills on both sides. The Zerafshan river runs westwards from the Zerafshan glacier, and crosses over into Uzbekistan further west.