What is the future of buildings declared as cultural heritage of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa?

 Thursday, December 26, 2024

Islamabad (UrduPoint News/ Pakistan Point News International- DW Urdu - 26 December 2024) The Archeology Department of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan is also determined that the complete restoration and renovation of these two historical mansions will be completed soon. The question is, what will happen to the hundreds of other historical buildings in the same province that are in a state of disrepair?

Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar’s ancestral homes: Cultural heritage that will be turned into museums

Peshawar is one of the oldest cities in South Asia, where there is no shortage of historical buildings, but a house in the Qissa Khwani Bazaar and a mansion of Dhakhi Munawar Shah have managed to gain special attention over the past few decades.

These are the ancestral homes of Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor, which were declared cultural heritage by the provincial government in 2013 and a formal notification was also issued in 2017.

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“We did not miss any opportunity to remember Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor so that this topic would remain alive,” Shakeel Waheedullah, administrator of the Cultural Heritage Council, tells DW Urdu.

If it were not for the efforts of the locals and the attention of the media, these buildings would have been converted into commercial plazas today.”

“There was a dispute between the people who owned these houses and the government,” says Waheedullah. “Finally, in 2021, the provincial government bought Raj Kapoor’s mansion for about Rs 15 million and Dilip Kumar’s house for about Rs 85 lakh.”

“Both houses are in a very dilapidated condition. We could not do anything even if we wanted to because there was no funds,” says Bakht Muhammad, deputy director of the Department of Archaeology. Now after the World Bank's announcement, we are determined and very soon these mansions will be restored and converted into museums."

After the media attention and the cooperation of the World Bank, the restoration of the aforementioned buildings can be expected, but what is the condition of other historical buildings in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and what will be their future?

How are old buildings considered cultural heritage in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, how many?

Bakht Muhammad says, "In 2016, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly passed the Antiquity Act, according to which every building or object that is a hundred years old or more is a cultural heritage and changing or destroying it is a punishable offense."

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Describing this matter, he says that there are different categories of buildings that are more than a hundred years old, "First, a survey is conducted and such ancient buildings are identified, which are a hundred years old or more. There are about 20,000 such buildings and sites in the province.

Then comes the registration stage. So far, we have 8,600 sites registered. We contact the owners of such buildings and express interest in buying or preserving them. Then come the protected sites, of which there are 86 in the province. Protected means that such sites have been restored and are open to the public, while registered buildings are awaiting restoration or work is underway.

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When DW asked him about the condition of most of the historical buildings today, Bakht Muhammad said, "There are 38 districts in the province, out of which 22 do not have any staff or office of the archaeology department. Tell me yourself what the condition of maintenance and protection of historical buildings could be there?"

Despite strict laws, demolition of historical buildings continues

According to a report published last year in the Tribal News Network by local journalist Zeeshan Kakakhel from Peshawar, "More than 100 sites or antiquities were damaged or smuggled in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from 2019 to 2023."

Kakakhel writes, "During this period, the archaeology department registered 38 cases but none of the accused were fined or arrested." In addition to the demolition of many other historical sites, Zeeshan Kakakhel also mentions an ancient temple in Landi Kotal. , which was demolished to make way for a commercial plaza.

Director of the Department of Archaeology, Abdul Samad Khan, however, denies the demolition of the temple.

It should be noted that according to the Antiquities Act, “destroying, breaking, damaging, altering, abrading, defacing or inscribing any writing or mark on any historical building or site, or removing anything from a protected or important historical site” is an offence, which “may result in imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years or a fine which may extend to two million rupees or both.”

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Shakeel Waheedullah says, "Mental attitudes are more important than laws and their implementation. If you look at the education system, has the mental or emotional attachment of children to cultural heritage and archeology been created anywhere? Are historical buildings or local culture visible anywhere in our state or national narrative? For us, a thousand-year-old temple is just a structure, which no one feels any pain when it is demolished.

Our overall attitude is that of property dealers, not that of a culture-loving nation."

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Terrorism, religious extremism, lack of funds and a bleak future

Bakht Muhammad, deputy director of the Department of Archaeology, says that there are many obstacles in the work of the Department of Archaeology in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that are not found in other provinces.

According to him, “This province has been affected the most by terrorism. Terrorism harms us in two ways. Tourism and entertainment in the province are being limited, fewer tourists are coming from outside. As a result, our museums get very little income. The second is that we have to limit our own activities.”

Research Superintendent and archaeologist Muhammad Khalid says that the major problem is funding, “For example, FATA was merged, in the initial survey we identified some places but there is no funding, so what further progress can we make?”

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Ahmed Bilour, research scholar at the Department of Archaeology, Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, says, “A major problem is religious extremism.

Buddha statues were broken, when a prime minister talked about establishing a temple in Islamabad, there was a strong reaction. Mining continued on hills in Mardan, where there were thousand-year-old carvings of ancient history. I wish ancient buildings were also sacred to us." Shakeel Waheedullah says, "The havelis of Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor will be saved, but the future of thousands of other historical buildings in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa looks bleak. Despite the big names of Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor and the struggle of the media and civil society for fifteen to twenty years, those havelis have become ruins, so you can guess the future of other historical buildings yourself."