[1][2][3] It was established in 1955 with the support of the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with Maulana Abdul Qadir serving as its first director.
Areas studied and researched by the academy include Pashtun culture, literature, history, and the arts.
The academy maintains a library which is host to a large collection of printed Pashto books, rare texts and manuscripts, media, tapes, and photographs of prominent scholars and poets.
[1] The academy also maintains a museum and art gallery, inaugurated in 2009, depicting Pashtun cultural heritage.
[6] A research cell has been set up at the academy which conducts studies on the life and works of Khushal Khan Khattak, regarded as one of the most notable classical Pashtun poets.