Tajikistan’s leading independent media group Asia-Plus has launched a Persian-language news service to coincide with the country’s 35th anniversary of independence, in a move aimed at expanding access to news from Tajikistan and Central Asia for millions of Persian-speaking readers worldwide.
The media group said the new platform will provide news and analysis about Tajikistan, Central Asia and international affairs using the Persian script, while seeking to strengthen cultural, linguistic and media connections between Tajikistan and the broader Persian-speaking world.
In a statement announcing the launch, Asia-Plus said the initiative is intended to make its journalism more accessible to audiences in Afghanistan, Iran and other Persian-speaking communities, where differences in writing systems have historically limited access to Tajik media.
The launch also comes amid broader efforts in Tajikistan to promote the historical use of the Persian script alongside the country’s official Tajik Cyrillic alphabet. Officials and cultural institutions in recent years have increasingly emphasized Tajikistan’s shared linguistic and cultural heritage with the wider Persian-speaking world.
“The Persian language unites millions of people across different countries, and we want Tajikistan’s stories to reach them in the script they use every day,” Omid Babakhanov, founder of Asia Plus Media Group said.
Asia-Plus said one of the main goals of the initiative is to reduce the communication gap created by different writing systems used for the Persian language. While Tajikistan officially writes Tajik Persian in Cyrillic, Afghanistan and Iran use the traditional Persian script.
Founded in 1996, Asia-Plus is one of Tajikistan’s largest privately owned media organizations. The group operates a news agency, weekly newspaper, radio station and multimedia production platform, publishing content in Tajik, Russian, English and now Persian script.
Over nearly three decades, Asia-Plus has become one of Central Asia’s best-known independent news outlets, providing coverage of politics, economics, society, culture and regional affairs.
The launch of the Persian-language service reflects growing interest in expanding regional media cooperation across Central Asia and the Persian-speaking world, where shared language and cultural ties continue to play an important role in journalism, education and public dialogue.
Asia-Plus said its long-term goal is to establish the Persian-language platform as a trusted source of news and analysis on Tajikistan and Central Asia while encouraging greater cultural exchange and cooperation among Persian-speaking communities.
