PESHAWAR: The Gandhara Hindko Academy has been shifted from University Town to Rampura Gate as part of cost-cutting measures, after the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government continued to withhold funding for the research institution over the past four years.

All the academy’s equipment, furniture and books have been moved to the office of the Gandhara Hindko Board in Karimi Plaza, Rampura Gate, in the old city area of Peshawar.

The board has been running the academy through donations from Hindko language enthusiasts since the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government discontinued funding after June 30, 2022.

Muhammad Ziauddin, chief of the executive committee of the privately-run academy, said the Gandhara Hindko Academy was established in Peshawar in April 2015 under a public-private partnership.

“The Higher Education Department of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government provided funding, while the Gandhara Hindko Board served as the implementing partner,” explained Ziauddin, who is also the general secretary of the Gandhara Hindko Board.

“Over the years, the academy has produced research-based literary publications by engaging writers and poets from Peshawar, Nowshera, Kohat, Haripur, Abbottabad and Mansehra, where Hindko is spoken,” he added.

Ziauddin said the academy later expanded its activities to publish books in 11 Pakistani languages in addition to Hindko, which, according to official estimates, is the sixth most widely spoken language in Pakistan and the second-largest language in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He said the institution has made significant contributions not only to Hindko but also to other Pakistani languages spoken in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and other provinces.

“The Hindko Academy has published numerous books, dictionaries and other scholarly works. We have organised literary and cultural conferences in Peshawar, Kohat, Abbottabad, Haripur, Mansehra, Dera Ismail Khan, Chitral and Swat to promote indigenous languages,” he said.

Ziauddin said the academy has published literary journals including Hindko Adab, Surkhail, The Gandhara Voice, Hindkowan, Gandhara News, Fatima, Taarey, Mother, Sargi Da Tara (Hazara), Kotal Rang (Kohat) and Gomal Rang (Dera Ismail Khan).

It has also provided financial support to magazines published in Khowar, Torwali and other regional languages.

Published in Dawn, July 12th, 2026