The Taliban removed the word "donishgoh (university - Dari)" from the signboard of the Balkh University and instead wrote "puhantun (university - Pashto)".
Mazar-i-Sharif, March 10 - Sangar, Qari Ahmad. Apparently, they continue the policy of Afghanization or Pashtunization of previous governments of Afghanistan - from Abdul Rahman to Ashraf Ghani.
A correspondent for the Sangar website from Mazar-e-Sharif reports that yesterday, March 10, two men, on the orders of the Taliban education department in Balkh province, removed the word "donishgoh" and engraved the word "puhantun" instead.
"It wouldn't be surprising if the sign didn't have the Pashto word on it. The previous plate mentions the words 'Donishgohi Balkh' and its Pashto variant, "D Balkh puhantun", and there was no need to change 'Donishgohi Balkh' to "Puhantuni Balkh." This action of the Taliban is a violation of the rights of non-Pashtuns, who make up the majority of the population of the Balkh province and the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, and is a sign of the policy of Afghanization of Tajik names," said Sangar one of Balkh scholars.
The issue of "donishgoh" and "puhantun" is not new to Afghanistan. Non-Pashtuns are for "donishgoh", while Pashtuns are for "puhantun". This dispute became heated under the government of Hamid Karzai. Karim Khorram, his minister of culture, was one of the initiators of this debate. This issue remained acute during the reign of Ashraf Ghani. After the Taliban returned to power, even one of their experts threatened the journalist: "Don't say "donishgoh", it will be bad!"
Mazari Sharif University is the third-largest university in Afghanistan after Kabul University and Ibn Sina University's capital university.
Balkh is the birthplace of Maulana Jalaluddin Balkhi, one of the world's great thinkers and poets, who wrote all his works in Dari - Persian. Dozens of other great poets of Tajik-Persian literature, such as Rabia Balkhi, Shahid Balkhi, Naser Khusrav Balkhi, and others, also grew up in Balkh.
According to internet data, Balkh is a province in northern Afghanistan with 1.245 million. In terms of numbers, most of its inhabitants are Tajiks, followed by Uzbeks. The province is also home to Hazaras, Pashtuns, and other ethnic groups.
