Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, 

Language conflicts have occurred repeatedly in Afghanistan for several decades. The majority of Afghans speak Pashto. Parts of the Afghan population speak Dari, Uzbek, Turkmen and some other languages. There are some Afghans who don't understand Pashto.

The lack of uniform language skills has mostly resulted in disputes, because people could not understand each other when resolving conflicts.  These circumstances pose a serious problem for the Afghan people that has not yet been resolved.

Each country has its own official language. For example, in our good neighbours Farsi is spoken in Tajikistan, Uzbek in Uzbekistan, and Turkmen in Turkmenistan. Of course, the speakers of Dari, Uzbek, and Turkmen in Afghanistan are, just like the Pashtuns, part of one Afghan people. We are all Afghans. We could end the linguistic conflicts that our ancestors had if we Afghans introduced a uniform official language, namely Pashto, so that we could all communicate with one another. A common official language for all Afghans would promote the feeling of national unity and cohesion. In this way, we would also be acting in the interests of our future generations, because in the future they will be able to live in peace with one another without language conflicts. 

Schools can play an important role in introducing the uniform official language.  The first three years of primary school could start teaching the Pashto language. The proportion of lessons held in Pashto would gradually increase in the following years.

We have no prejudice against Dari, Uzbek, Turkmen or other languages. We respect all languages. Of course, all mother tongues can continue to be spoken at home with friends and family.  In this context, we could mention Germany, the United State, and Saudi Arabia as a few examples. Although many migrants with different mother tongues live in these countries, these countries only have one official language each. The official language is German in Germany, English in the USA, and Arabic in Saudi Arabia. As a result, there are no language conflicts in the countries mentioned.

A person can learn several languages in childhood. So it would be very easy for all Afghans to learned Pashto as the official Afghan language when they are children. The introduction of a uniform official language is also important for restoring order in the country. The last elections in Afghanistan showed that Pashtuns filled the ballot boxes in favour of Pashto-speaking candidates and Dari-speakers filled the ballot boxes in favour of Dari-speaking candidates.

Multiple languages within a single people create more conflicts. Parallel societies arise. Some mafia groups abuse the multilingualism of our society and put speakers of different languages against each other for their own profit.

Of course, some Afghans are against all Afghans speaking a single language. In our opinion, anyone who is against the introduction of a uniform official language in Afghanistan is an opponent and enemy of the Afghan people. Anyone who loves the Afghan people would be in favour of a uniform official language.

It is a good and extremely important right of all Afghans to use a single language to communicate. We need not be ashamed. We can be proud of our language. 

We only have one country called Afghanistan.

We have only one flag with the colours black, red and green.

We are one people called Afghans.

We want an official language.

All Afghans should therefore learn the official language. It would be all the better if they also learned other languages.

We are all ONE.

Best regards

Hayattullah Maiwand

1.Chairman of the FDPA

The publication of this letter is limited to April 12, 2021