Standing alone on the bank of the lake at Khanpur Dam, a mosque that is over 150 years old was once the centre of religious activity in the area. Some 40 kilometres from Islamabad, the mosque remains an attraction for anyone interested in local history.

Valuable though it may be, the mosque is a picture of neglect on the part of the archaeology department as well as local residents. While Eid prayers are still offered at the mosque, most of the time it is used as a resting spot for shepherds and occasionally, visitors.

On rainy days local shepherds house their cattle in the mosque basement, and cow dung litters the area. There is no water supply at the mosque, and a water supply line and the ruins of washrooms and the house of the prayer leader can be seen adjacent to the mosque.

The mosque is constructed with blocks of black stone and brick, and is a tribute to Mughal architecture. The main hall’s columns and arches too are reminiscent of Mughal-era mosques, while the doors are made of wood in a more recent style.

The mosque graveyard is scattered with old graves. The condition of the graves is dismal, and many nameplates have been destroyed. Inside, the tile work on the mosque’s minarets is faded, and the stairs to the courtyard are made with tiles made of local stone from Taxila and Haripur.

Residents are not familiar with the name of mosque, and instead call it the Rajgan Mosque. “Raja Jehandad Khan constructed the mosque in the late 1880s. Religious scholars from across the Indian subcontinent were invited to lay the foundation stone of the mosque,” local resident Ali Zaman said, retelling a story he had heard from his grandfather.

He said the mosque was a centre of religious activity until the 1970s, but after the construction of the dam and the lake, people moved out of the area.

He said residents from the surrounding areas constructed another mosque closer to their homes, but people still gathered at the Rajgan Mosque on Eid because it has a larger courtyard and prayer hall.

When contacted, Moeed Gull, the assistant director at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Archaeology Department, said the department has no information on the mosque since it is not on its list of protected sites.

He said the department has begun a survey of the Haripur region and would soon compile a list of mosques, temples and other historical sites so they can be protected.

“Experts will inspect the building – whether or not it is a historical place – and if it was constructed 75 years ago then we will include it in the list of protected sites,” he said.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2016