KABUL — The Taliban-run Ministry of Information and Culture has established a committee to regulate and standardize phrases, terms, and titles used in media broadcasts, the ministry announced on Monday.
According to the statement, Muhajir Farahi, the Taliban deputy minister for publications, created the committee during a session of the media violations commission.
The statement said the initiative aims to reinforce Afghanistan’s ‘national and Islamic identity’ by ensuring the uniform use of approved terminology in media reporting.
The Taliban-run Bakhtar News Agency reported that Farahi urged media outlets to avoid ‘foreign terms’, emphasizing the need for linguistic uniformity in news coverage.
Previously, the ministry had instructed journalists and media organizations to use “nationally accepted words and phrases”, a directive that aligns with broader efforts by the Taliban to control public discourse.
The issue of “national terminology” has long been a subject of debate in the country. During the Republic era, government officials and members of the National Assembly criticized media outlets for using words they deemed foreign, but no formal policy was ever enforced.
At the time, words such as Daneshgah (university), Daneshjoo (student), Shahrdari (municipality), and Dadgah-e Aali (Supreme Court)—which have Persian roots—were labeled as foreign terms by some officials.
Taliban have continued this policy, seeking to eliminate Persian-derived words from media broadcasts while asserting Dari as Afghanistan’s national language.
Some Taliban officials have even criticized television presenters for using certain Persian words on air. In the early months of their rule, the Taliban removed signs from government offices and institutions, claiming they contained unapproved ‘foreign’ terminology.
