RASC News Agency: The Taliban’s Ministry of Higher Education announced a prohibition on translating works for “academic promotion” into Turkish and Uzbek languages. In a document released to the media on Monday, April 22, the ministry directed the Uzbek and Turkish language and literature departments at universities, particularly in northern Afghanistan, to translate foreign academic works for “practical promotion” into the official languages of Pashto and Persian.
Previously, professors of Uzbek and Turkish language and literature translated foreign academic works into Uzbek for academic advancement. Since the Taliban took control of the country, anti-Persian sentiment has peaked, with all administrative documents switched to Pashto and Persian cultural heritage being destroyed.
However, this marks the first explicit ban by the Taliban on translating works into Turkish and Uzbek in northern provinces predominantly inhabited by Uzbeks. In over two years of rule, the Taliban have increasingly restricted education, studies, and academic work, contributing to a brain drain from the country.
