Pashto Academy


Pashto Academy is a language regulatory institution based at the University of Peshawar in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan responsible for the standardisation, advancement, and promotion of Pashto language. It was established in 1955 with the support of the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with Maulana Abdul Qadir serving as its first director. It is a research and publication institution with a focus on Pashto linguistic development and research. Areas studied and researched by the academy include Pashtun culture, literature, history, and the arts.

Activities

Since its inception, the Pashto Academy has produced over 500 publications in Pashto, which include classical texts, modern literature, critical literature, scientific works, translations, Pashto lexicon, research publications, booklets, and journals. The academy maintains a library which is host to a large collection of printed Pashto books, rare texts and manuscripts, media, tapes, and photographs of prominent scholars and poets. The academy also maintains a museum and art gallery, inaugurated in 2009, depicting Pashtun cultural heritage. A research cell has been set up at the academy by the Government of Pakistan which conducts studies on the life and works of Khushal Khan Khattak, regarded as one of the most notable classical Pashtun poets.

Directors

Past and present directors of the Pashto Academy: