Trust formed to protect Sindh’s ancient sites: Bakhtawar
THATTA: Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari on Saturday announced the establishment of ‘Sindhu Heritage Trust’ to raise funds to protect the Moenjodaro and other historic sites of the province.
“Climate change and environmental factors pose the biggest threats to this ancient site,” said Bakhtawer, the younger sibling of PPP chairperson while speaking at the closing ceremony of the Sindh Festival.
She said that combined with the ongoing neglect and lack of resources and technical capacity, the ancient site of Moenjodaro remains in the danger of being lost forever.
“The first initiative for the Trust will be to take emergency preventive action so desperately needed at Moenjodaro,” she said.
The young Bhutto said that funds will be spent to train workers, supervisors and technical staff needed to prevent the decaying effects of nature’s hostile elements and to ensure a sustainable improvement of the conditions on the site.
“It will also allow for further archaeological work to take place. This means jobs created here in Pakistan.”
She said that her brother Bilawal Bhutto Zardari conceived the idea of Sindh festival when he saw the plight of these ancient ruins during a visit.
The funds will be used to encourage archaeology courses at universities in Sindh, she said. These courses will enable the next generation of Pakistani archaeologists to protect their heritage sites rather than banking on others, she added.
“We will also seek to create partnerships and exchanges with international universities.”
She said the country’s rich history spanning millennia and its culture remain under attack by forces that aim to make it either more Arab or more Western. “We are neither. We are Pakistan. And we are proud (of it).”
“Through Sindh Festival we have begun our fight back, our battle to reclaim the cultural space which is being lost to those who seek to destroy us.”
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