Beihagi Publishers

Beihagi is the national book publisher responsible for purchasing and printing books related to Afghan culture and printing information relating to the government and its plans. After the Soviet coup d’etat the Soviets supplied books about Marxism and science and technology in Russian. The publisher and its bookshops were closed during the Taliban time and of its original 20 shops only four now remain. Beihagi currently has orders for books from eight provinces and has already sent books to three provinces (Laghman, Kapisa and Parwan). In the first year of the interim government it printed and distributed calendars to all provinces and planned to supply all provinces with books and informational material about the new government. The company has signed contracts to import books from neighbouring countries. It also hopes to print history books from different regions and distribute them nationally. Director Sadiq Ayar says that their plan is to find a foreign joint venture partner in order to raise funds to improve facilities and increase their profile internationally. Beihagi has three rules: there must be no slander of individuals, security of state secrets must be protected, and there should be no racism or prejudice against ethnic groups. The Director is very proud to point out that four different ethnic groups are represented in his office - Hazara, Tajik, Pashtun and Uzbek - all working well together, a mirror of his hopes for the country.