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tajikistanweb.com / based on BBC Persian material
The Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture has punished a journalist and two local TV officials for "using Persian words" in their pieces, BBC Persian reported.
The Ministry's letter addressed to the Balkh TV station in north of Afghanistan gives a verdict to dismiss Baseer Babai, a local reporter of the Afghan National TV in Mazar-i Sharif , for "using words and expressions incompatible with the cultural and Islamic principles" and maintains that "this instance of infringement should be noted in his career background."
With this retribution the 20-year-long career of the journalist falls under question.
For the same reason the head of the local Balkh TV station Zabehollah Fitrat and the head of the National TV Information Department Daud Ahmadi have received stern warnings.
Basir Babai had used Persian equivalents of Pashto words for "faculty" and "university" in a report for the National TV. Furthermore, he had preferred Persian "daneshjuyan" (students) over Arabic "mohasselin". Babai had received warnings from the Information and Culture Ministry even before and had been asked "to refrain from using alien words" in his reports.
The journalist believes that he has not infringed any law or principle, but has simply used his mother tongue - Persian Dari.
Afghanistani intellectuals believe that Persian and (Persian) Dari are two dialects of the same language. However, some of Pashtun politicians or those whose native language is other than Persian try to draw border lines between the two dialects.