Books Written About Taliban Rule Should Be Published After Review

The deputy minister of information and culture of the Taliban said that based on the order of the prime minister of this group, a committee has been established to review the books.

Mahajer Farahi, deputy minister for publications at the Ministry of Information and Culture, said, "According to the decree of the Prime Minister of the Islamic Emirate, books that are written about the Emirate or books that are written by government departments must come to this committee and pass the review and then be published."

The Taliban-controlled Bakhtar News Agency reported on Sunday, that a committee consisting of representatives of Kabul University, the Academy of Sciences, the Ministries of Information and Culture, Hajj and Religious Affairs, Promotion of Virtue, Higher Education, and several other institutions has been formed to review books written about the group's rule.

The ministry official added that books written about the Taliban system, governance and the "Islamic Emirate" "should naturally be what presents the main and true picture of the taliban order”.

He explained the reason for the establishment of this committee and the pre-publication review of books written about the Taliban in a way to present a unified narrative of the Taliban's governance.

In a video published by Bakhtar News Agency, he said, "It has been considered necessary that if anyone or officials write a book on this subject, it should be investigated and published through this committee so that the views of one person are not considered the views of the entire system."

The Taliban's Ministry of Information and Culture has repeatedly announced that it is reviewing the content of other books. In a number of cases, the group has even collected a number of books from the market, but it is unclear whether the committee will examine other books as well.