In June 1922, he commanded the 2nd Turkestan Cavalry Brigade during the offensive of the Red Army against the forces of Enver Pasha. The Ottoman general Enver Pasha had come to Central Asia to lead the anti-Soviet Basmachi Revolt in 1921. Despite the significant numerical superiority of Enver Pasha's Basmachi detachments, they were defeated by units of the Red Army. According to Melkumov's memoirs, Enver Pasha fled to the village of Chagan after being defeated in a battle near Baljuvon (modern-day Tajikistan) in August 1922; he was ambushed in Chagan by a squadron of Red Army cavalry and killed by machine-gun fire outside the village mosque, although there are other versions of Enver's death. Some sources write that Melkumov personally killed Enver Pasha with his sabre, although Melkumov does not claim this in his memoirs. For his military achievements during the Gissar campaign and for the defeat of Enver Pasha's army, Melkumov was awarded his second Order of the Red Banner.