Attempts to Deactivate Pashto Departments in Quetta Colleges Condemned: PkNAP

Quetta: Pakhtunkhwa National Awami Party (PkNAP) has strongly condemned what it described as attempts to deactivate Pashto departments in various colleges of Quetta, particularly at Government Postgraduate Girls College Quetta Cantt, by transferring all Pashto professors and lecturers.

In a press release issued by the party’s provincial secretariat, the transfers and weakening of Pashto departments were termed a “systematic conspiracy” against the Pashto language, literature, culture, and national identity.

The statement said that Pashto is one of the most widely spoken languages in the province, with a majority of speakers in Quetta, surrounding areas, and southern Pashtunkhwa. It added that depriving students of higher education in their mother tongue constitutes educational injustice and a violation of constitutional, linguistic, and cultural rights.

The party emphasized that Pashto is a major language with a rich literary, cultural, and historical heritage, contributing significantly to poetry, research, history, and education. It stressed that promoting and strengthening its academic departments is a fundamental responsibility of the government and the Higher Education Department.

PkNAP further stated that it is deeply concerning that instead of promoting Pashto, Balochi, Brahui, and other regional languages, their academic departments are being weakened or restricted. The party warned that such actions would have long-term negative impacts on future generations.

The press release demanded that the government, Higher Education Department, and concerned authorities immediately reactivate Pashto departments, reverse the transfers of faculty members, fill vacant posts, and ensure the provision of proper teaching and research facilities in all colleges.

The party warned that if these issues are not addressed promptly, PkNAP will raise the matter on all democratic, constitutional, and legal forums.

It reiterated its commitment to continue struggling for the protection of linguistic, cultural, and educational rights of the Pashtun people and said it would not remain silent over any injustice against the mother tongue.