Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada instructs northern governors to exercise caution on multilingual signs to preserve unity

Hibatullah Akhundzada, leader of the Taliban, has instructed governors in northern Afghanistan to exercise caution in changing multilingual signs to preserve unity. He stated that existing signs written in Pashto, Persian, Uzbek and other languages should not be altered.

The office of the Taliban governor in Balkh stated in a press release on Friday, 24 Dalo, that the matter was raised during a coordination meeting of northwest zone governors in Maimana city. According to the governor's office, Akhundzada issued the directive in response to prior changes made to signs in these provinces.

The Taliban had previously removed Persian and Uzbek languages from signs at universities in Samangan and Jowzjan provinces. The removal sparked significant backlash.

Protests followed the elimination of Uzbek from a sign at Samangan University, prompting Uzbekistan's government to seek clarification from the Taliban. Uzbekistan's Foreign Ministry conveyed concerns over the "suppression of the Uzbek language" to the Taliban's Foreign Ministry. The Taliban responded that it had not restricted the Uzbek language.

Following pressure from Uzbekistan, the Taliban restored Uzbek to the signs.

Previously, in the month of Asad, the Taliban administration demolished a statue of Alisher Navoi in Mazar-i-Sharif. Uzbekistan's Foreign Ministry reacted to the demolition. In response, the Taliban announced plans to build a "memorial inscription" and a cultural center honoring Navoi at the site.