KARACHI: A new portal-like entrance gate to the National Museum of Pakistan with over three-century-old inscription was inaugurated on Wednesday afternoon.

The holy verse of Surah-i-Furqan on stone panel carving from Shah Jahan Mosque in Thatta is now part of the museum’s entrance, according to museum official M.A. Bukhari, who said it was brought to the metropolis in 1976.

“It will now be seen permanently on the entrance structure,” he said.

The gate, he added, was built in eight months.

Special assistant to the chief minister for culture and tourism Sharmila Farooqui, who inaugurated the entrance gate, said often plans related to cultural activities took years to complete, but she and her colleagues wanted to come up with projects which could be finished within a short period of time and with little expenditure. She said it was important to preserve one’s cultural heritage that was why her department had that on top of its priority list. She said the museum entrance was in accordance with the grandeur of the museum and acknowledged the preservation of the holy verse on stone panel carving.

Ms Farooqui said that while her department did not have much fund, it went ahead with the gate that was part of a four-project plan. She expressed the hope that it would be completed quickly with little funding. She said she had always endeavoured to bring to prominence the cultural significance of Sindh, and this time round something from another part of the province was brought to Karachi.

Replying to a question, she said she was paying attention to other projects, such as the one in Ranikot, as well. After speaking to the media, Ms Farooqui went into the building and inaugurated the IT server room in the museum. The culture department is the second after the finance department that has the server.

According to information provided by a culture department official, the main components of the new museum entrance scheme is to preserve the verse in the aesthetically designed gate, lighting of the lawn and boundary walls of the museum, face-lifting of the museum and development of its lawns.

Published in Dawn, January 14th, 2016