Islamabad, July 4:
The UN has asked Pakistan to reverse the “reconstructions” that “undermined the integrity” of two historical sites in Taxila, a UNESCO World Heritage site, or these would be placed on the agency’s “danger list”, a media report said on Thursday.
UNESCO, the cultural arm of the UN, in a recent meeting told senior government officials that it would not hesitate to “delist” the historical sites at Mohra Moradu and Sirkap just like it had “delisted” a World Heritage Site in Germany, due to the recent “unnecessary interventions”, the Dawn newspaper reported quoting sources.
The UN agency warned that it would “delist” Taxila from its World Heritage List if the actions were not reversed.
In March, a visitor shared information and pictures with Pakistan’s Permanent Delegate to UNESCO in Paris, highlighting reconstruction works by the Punjab archaeology department.
The visitor observed interventions that could “affect the authenticity and integrity of the property, specifically original walls being replaced with new construction or their height being raised”, the report said.
Subsequently, UNESCO cautioned that “unnecessary interventions” compromised the authenticity and integrity of these sites and could put them at risk of being placed on the “danger list”.
Photos showed that fresh masonry works had replaced some ancient walls and reconstruction was carried out to increase the height of the walls, the report said.
It was easy to discern between old stones which are irregular in size and modern building material, which seems polished and uniform in size, the paper reported.
Last month, a joint technical visit was conducted by UNESCO, the Department of Archaeology and Museums (DOAM), and the Ministry of National Heritage and Cultural Division to Taxila Museum.
UNESCO had requested the specific documentation regarding Mohra Moradu and Sirkap pertaining to the conservation and restoration works, an official said.
Punjab archaeology department director General Malik Zaheer Abbas said that characterising the ongoing work at Sirkap and Mohra Moradu as “reconstruction” was not accurate, the Dawn reported.
“The interventions being undertaken are conservation measures based on internationally accepted conservation principles, with the primary objective of stabilising vulnerable archaeological remains, preventing further deterioration, and preserving the authenticity and integrity of these World Heritage properties,” he said.
“At present, there is no question of ‘reversing reconstruction’ because the works are conservation interventions, not reconstruction,” the official added.