Minorities | Former Afghan parliament speaker Abdul Rauf Ebrahimi says Uzbek speakers faced neglect under the republic and Taliban rule, and calls for a dedicated budget

ACW | October 22, 2026 — Abdul Rauf Ebrahimi, former speaker of Afghanistan's lower house of parliament (Wolesi Jirga), called on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, for a dedicated budget to develop the Uzbek language, in an interview with Afghanistan International.

According to Afghanistan International, Ebrahimi said the Uzbek language and the country's Turkic communities faced "neglect" both under the former republic and under Taliban rule. He criticised discrimination and inequality against the language.

The interview aired on National Uzbek Language Day, when Afghanistan International launched its first Uzbek-language programme, "Uzbeklar Avazi" (Voice of the Uzbeks). The outlet says the weekly programme covers the lives, cultural heritage and under-reported concerns of Afghan Uzbeks.

The Taliban have not responded to Ebrahimi's remarks.

Background: According to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Taliban authorities pulled down a monument to the 15th-century poet Alisher Navoi in Mazar-e Sharif on August 18, 2025, and later pledged to rebuild it after residents protested. Earlier this week, Afghanistan's UN envoy Naseer Ahmad Faiq accused the Taliban of repressing Afghanistan's cultural diversity.

Why it matters: Under Article 16 of Afghanistan's 2004 constitution, Uzbek was a third official language in areas where most people speak it. The 1992 UN Declaration on the Rights of Minorities recognises the right of linguistic and ethnic minorities to use their own language.

ACW will continue to follow this story.

Sources: Afghanistan International — interview with Abdul Rauf Ebrahimi on the Uzbek language; RFE/RL — Navoi monument pulled down in Mazar-e Sharif

Photo: Afghanistan International