Taliban Leader Orders Removal of ‘Foreign’ Terms from Government Documents
The leader of the Taliban administration has issued a new directive mandating the formation of a special committee to review and replace what they term ‘foreign’ expressions in administrative and foundational documents of the Emirate’s departments. The order is effective immediately from the date of issuance and will also be published in the official gazette.
According to the directive, the committee will be led by the Ministry of Justice and include members from the ministries of Higher Education, Education, Information and Culture, as well as the General Directorate of the Academy of Sciences and the Administration Department. The committee’s mission is to review and determine approved alternatives for words used in official correspondences and documents.
The directive emphasizes that all Emirate departments are obligated to submit lists of terms they use along with proposed alternatives and justifications in a specified table format to this committee. Subsequently, the committee is tasked with selecting suitable substitutes based on what it describes as ‘Islamic and Afghan’ terminology, and presenting them for final approval.
The committee also holds the authority to summon representatives from relevant departments to provide further information if necessary. This directive comes amidst the Taliban administration’s ongoing efforts over recent years to restructure and adapt administrative language and frameworks according to their interpretation of Islamic and Afghan identity—a move that has consistently sparked discussions and concerns regarding the potential narrowing of academic and administrative diversity.
