RAWAT Fort is gradually deteriorating as a result of neglect by the Archaeology Department. The Gakhars, a tribe of the Potohar plateau, built the fort in the early 16th century. It is 17km east of Rawalpindi on Grand Trunk Road.

The fort was the scene of a battle between Gakhar chief Sultan Sarang Khan and Sher Shah Suri in AD 1546. It is almost in square form and has two gates. It contains a mosque made up of three big dome-shaped rooms.

There is also a quadrangular building with a dome. Along the wall, there are additional small rooms. In the centre of the fort, there are many graves. Among them is the tomb of Sultan Sarang Khan. His 16 sons, who died there fighting, are also buried inside the fort.

The fort is almost a square, and the surrounding fort area has a semicircular bastion on the four corners with two gates, one each on its east and west.

Now cattle graze fields while children of Tali Mohallah play cricket inside the fort. Many tourists visit this historic place daily but they are disappointed.

Many political functions are held in the fort. If repair work does not begin soon, the archaeological site may be destroyed.

The Archaeological Department should take notice and start repair work immediately.

Shahzad Hussain Bhatti

Rawat, Islamabad