March, 17 2005	Thursday	06 Safar 1426

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MARDAN, March 16: Zainul Wahab, director of the Chakdra museum and expert on Greek sites and Hellenic culture in the NWFP, is the first scholar of Pakistan who has been awarded a gold medal of Ambassador of Hellenism by the culture department of the government of Greece in an impressive ceremony in Athens (Greece). Zainul Wahab is a renowned scholar on various archaeological sites and historical periods, particularly of Greek culture in the NWFP. He has not only established the Mardan Museum in 1990 but also worked on various sites, including Alexander’s route, excavation at Gangoder (Hund), and establishment of the Alexander Monument at Hund (Swabi). He recovered extremely rare casket relics during excavation work at Shalkanday at Dir.

He carried out both theoretical and practical work on Greek sites in the NWFP, which were considered a great contribution in the promotion of Greek civilization and cultural history in this part of the world. While keeping in view his contribution in Greek work in the NWFP, the department of archaeology of the Greek government awarded him a scholarship and now he has been awarded a gold medal of “Ambassador of Hellenism” for the year 2005.

Mr Wahab said that it was a highly honourable award in Greece and only six people had been nominated for the award throughout the world, and he added that he was the first Pakistani scholar who had been selected for the award. He deplored the fact that no official from the Pakistan embassy was present in the ceremony despite being sent an invitation. He said that the NWFP was a beautiful and rich archaeological province of Pakistan and if it was properly excavated numerous Greek sites could be discovered.