LAHORE: The Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) and the Aga Khan Cultural Services Pakistan held a joint press briefing on Shahi Hammam’s Award of Merit declared by Unesco.

WCLA spokesperson Tania Qureshi and Aga Khan Cultural Services Pakistan senior architect and consultant Rashid Makhdoom briefed the media on various aspects of the monument.

Mr Makhdoom highlighted the historic importance of Shahi Hammam and the techniques used to conserve it. He also explained the process of nominating Shahi Hammam for Unesco award. He said previously one of the streets inside Delhi Gate,“Gali Surjan Singh” had received this award. He said there’s a strong chance that the ongoing projects such as Wazir Khan Mosque, Wazir Khan Square and Picture Wall of Lahore Fort would also be awarded.

Ms Qureshi spoke about the partnership with the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and appreciated their efforts for getting the donors for preserving the heritage. She said such world-class conservation would not have been possible without the efforts and technical assistance of the institution.

She explained that the project of Royal Trail, conservation of Wazir Khan Mosque, Picture Wall and Royal Kitchen of Lahore Fort are being carried out and in future more projects including the Master Conservation Plan of Walled City will also be done with their partnership and technical assistance.

Kamran Lashari, the WCLA director general, said: “I think this partnership will go a long way and we aim at speedy restoration of our heritage, though it’s a time-taking process. We still plan to start parallel projects and will complete the conservation of Dina Nath Well and Wazir Khan Square by March next year and that will be another wonder revived to its original glory.

“It is a matter of immense pride for the government of Punjab that Pakistan’s monument is among the 13 winning projects from six countries, who have won the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation,” he said.

Published in Dawn, September 9th, 2016