PESHAWAR, Feb 1: NWFP Governor Iftikhar Hussain Shah has stressed the need for protecting, preserving and promoting cultural heritage, which, he said, is imperative for collective national expression and to reflect the spiritual maturity of a nation.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of Iranian arts and crafts cultural exhibition, jointly arranged by the Iranian Cultural Centre and the NWFP Department of Archaeology and Museums at Peshawar Museum on Saturday, the governor said: “Failing to do so will be an unpardonable error.”

Mr Iftikhar Hussain Shah said: “We fully realize that human beings cannot live by bread alone but the art and culture also nourish the soul.”

In this connection he mentioned the importance of paintings, calligraphy, handicrafts, architecture and music, saying that all these were the means to express the inner and sublime human feelings.

The governor said that the impact of the Iranian arts and crafts on the cultural development in Pakistan and other countries of the region was indelible.

The ceremony was attended among others by provincial minister for tourism, culture and museums Raja Faisal Zaman and secretary culture Sahibzada Mohammad Khalid, prominent educationists and elites, besides a number of Irani nationals stationed in Peshawar and Korean research scholars who are in Peshawar for research on different civilizations.