Asfandyar announces movement to promote indigenous languages

ANP president calls for imparting education in mother tongues

PESHAWAR: The provincial government should make functional the authority set up for the promotion of the indigenous languages of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, said Awami National Party (ANP) President Asfandyar Wali Khan on Wednesday.

In a statement with regards to the International Mother Languages Day, he announced starting a movement for the preservation and promotion of mother tongues.

Asfandyar said that scholars across the world agree that children can better comprehend what is taught in their mother tongue.

The provincial government should therefore start education in indigenous languages.

“In the ANP era we had formed an authority for preservation of mother tongues under the 18th Constitutional Amendment and provided constitutional cover to the institution,” he said, asking the current government to revamp the authority for the promotion of indigenous languages.

He criticised the PTI-led provincial government for ignoring the Pashto and regional languages of K-P. Asfandyar asked the government to develop curriculum in Pashto language.

“We will not push for the promotion of Pashto only, regional languages like Kohistani, Saraiki, Hindko should also be promoted,” the ANP leader said.

He cited the example of Bengali, that those were victimized by imposed Urdu as official language which had laid the foundation of alienation in the erstwhile East Pakistan.

International Mother Language Day (IMLD) is a worldwide annual observance held on February 21 to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and promote multilingualism.

IMLD 2019 theme is: “Indigenous languages matter for development, peace building and reconciliation”.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 21^st, 2019.