{"id":29974,"date":"2026-06-02T09:20:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T09:20:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/?p=29974"},"modified":"2026-06-02T09:27:33","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T09:27:33","slug":"paik-katab-herat-a-book-courier-keeping-the-culture-of-reading-alive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/2026\/06\/paik-katab-herat-a-book-courier-keeping-the-culture-of-reading-alive\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Paik Katab Herat\u2019; a book courier keeping the culture of reading alive"},"content":{"rendered":"

On the roads and streets of Herat, amid the bustle of daily life and the constant flow of traffic, a young man is following a different path\u2014one shaped by books, knowledge, and a passion for reading.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ghulam Farooq Mahmoodi, a 34-year-old bookseller, says that after years of working in the profession, he realized that books could be made more accessible to the public.<\/p>\n

More than a month ago, he launched a book courier service with a simple vehicle. Although the initiative may seem small at first glance, it has created a new connection between people and books.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been running a bookstore for many years. Through participating in book fairs and organizing street book exhibitions, I realized that a book courier service could be more effective. That is why I decided to launch this mobile book service, so that more of our fellow citizens could have access to books,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cPaik Katab Herat,\u201d an idea that began as a personal passion, has now evolved into a cultural service that, according to Mahmoodi, cost between 400,000 and 500,000 Afghanis to launch.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

He adds that most books are sourced from domestic markets, while the majority of orders are for books written by domestic authors.<\/p>\n

\u201cOrders vary. Some days, I receive between 10 and 15 orders from Herat and from outside the province. Most of the books I provide are sourced from Herat, and most orders are for books by domestic authors,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

He now receives orders daily via phone calls and social media, and delivers books to different parts of the city.<\/p>\n

According to him, the initiative is not just a source of income; it is an effort to keep the culture of reading alive. He explains,<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have several ways of receiving orders from our fellow citizens. We conduct outreach through social media pages and mobile book exhibitions. In receiving orders in particular, our sisters are at the forefront.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the other hand, several customers have welcomed the initiative, saying that the book courier service has made access to books easier for many families and the youth.<\/p>\n

Latifa Sadat, a customer of Paik Katab Herat, says, \u201cWhen a book courier comes to our neighborhood, I see youth and children becoming interested in browsing books and selecting one to read. This initiative is highly effective in raising public awareness.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Zabiullah, another customer, says that such programs can have a positive impact on encouraging teenagers and the youth to read. He believes that expanding similar initiatives could play a significant role in raising awareness in society and strengthening the culture of reading.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that this initiative has a very positive effect on encouraging teenagers and the youth to read and can further promote a culture of reading in society,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, officials at the Herat Department of Information and Culture say they support programs aimed at promoting a reading culture and encouraging youth to read.<\/p>\n

Abdul Matin Adel, Head of Culture and Arts at the Herat Department of Information and Culture, says,<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Department of Information and Culture is fully supporting efforts to promote a reading culture and encourage youth to turn from social media toward reading. We are working to further develop the reading culture so that the intellectual and social gaps among youth can be filled through reading,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Mahmoodi adds that if he receives support from government authorities and businessmen, he intends to expand his work.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I have more facilities and receive support from officials and businessmen, I will certainly try to expand the program and make it larger,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The initiative has helped bring books closer to people\u2019s homes, making reading more accessible despite many challenges and helping keep the culture of reading alive.<\/p>\n

Reporter: Kobra Salari<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI have been running a bookstore for many years. Through participating in book fairs and organizing street book exhibitions, I realized that a book courier service could be more effective. That is why I decided to launch this mobile book service, so that more of our fellow citizens could have access to books,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":29976,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[990,16,980,362],"tags":[180,1231,1931,1932,1933],"class_list":["post-29974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest","category-report","category-society-culture","category-literature-books","tag-herat","tag-book","tag-paik-katab-herat","tag-book-courier","tag-culture-of-reading"],"views":9,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29974"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29974\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29980,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29974\/revisions\/29980"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swn.af\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}