Astana: The Kazakh President on Thursday signed a law tightening control over religious organisations in a bid to counter Islamist extremism, drawing criticism from international rights groups.

President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed the law, reflecting "current realities and trends," his office said in a statement.

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The law bans religious ceremonies in state institutions and requires religious groups and missionaries to re-register with the government of the ex-Soviet state.

The authorities said the new law was needed to crack down on extremism, after they arrested several dozen suspected Islamist militants this summer. But it has sparked criticism from rights groups and from religious organisations, both Muslim and Christian.

It specifically targets unregistered minority groups such as Muslim organisations that are not affiliated with the state Muslim oversight body.

Around 70 percent of Kazakhstan`s 16.5 million people are Muslims and Kazakh authorities have repeatedly expressed concern about Muslim extremism sweeping in from other Central Asian states and Afghanistan.

Kazakhstan, ruled by Nazarbayev since 1989 in the Soviet era, has sought international recognition for its progress on human rights and chaired the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 2010. Last month, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights slammed the law, saying it "appears to unnecessarily restrict the freedom of religion or belief and is poised to limit the exercise of this freedom."

In July, Kazakh authorities said they had foiled a plot by a group of militants to organise terrorist attacks, and went on to arrest 29 people.

PTI