PESHAWAR: A symbol of the violation of the antiquities law and court orders was pulled down after years of delay when a commercial building right inside the protected heritage site of Gor Khatri was demolished on Friday night by the district administration.

The commercial building – a wedding hall- constructed in 80s by the then minister C&W department not only remained an eyesore for years, it was also an embodiment of the violation of the antiquities laws and local court’s decisions to demolish it taken few years ago.

However, the wedding hall could not be demolished in the previous Awami National Party’s government as the relevant minister had secured the lease of the wedding hall for a long period and had been able to take a stay order when the court ordered to demolish the commercial building at the Protected Archaeological site of Gor Khatri, officials claimed.

Peshawar admin pulls down wedding hall inside protected heritage site after delay of years

The Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pervez Khattak had ordered to implement the court order when six months back the stay period ended and the directorate of Archaeology and Museums wrote several letters to request wedding hall be demolished. Yet the wedding hall still stood tall and no one touched it.

“We approached chief secretary Azam Khan on the issue, who ordered the district government to implement the court’s order immediately,” said an official of the archaeology and museums department, who was supervising the demolition started late Friday night since day time Peshawar City was a busy and crowded place.

The wedding hall which was a violation of the NWFP Antiquities Act 1997 and currently enforced Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Antiquities Act 2016 in literally concrete form was demolished by the district and local government on Friday night.

“It is symbolic step. It tells the world loud and clear that KP government cares for the heritage. The site is a symbol of the culture and history of this province and the country,” said director archaeology and museums Dr Abdul Samad.

Some locals are objecting to demolition of a one-room library adjacent to the wedding hall. It is not possible that a functional library and wedding hall coexisted. It is just an attempt to put a spanner in the demolition process. We had informed them to clear the space well in time. These are vested interest groups that are trying to create hurdles, said Dr Samad.

“The court ordered it sometime back and the government executed it to save our heritage. It was just a matter of implementation. It is an act to save the protected site and preserve our heritage,” said Dr Samad.

According to researchers and papers published, Gor Khatri located on the highest point of Peshawar City dates back to third century BC and is located in one of the oldest living cities of South Asia.

The Gor Khatri in Sanskrit meaning ‘warrior’s grave’ has remains of Hindus, who used to perform the ritual of Sardukahr (shaving heads) of pilgrims. The complex was built by Jahan Ara Begum, daughter of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, in 1641. The serai or guesthouse cells still exist in the rectangular compound. There is a mosque also at the site.

There are two main gates on its western and eastern sides are still in quiet a better shape and restored. The compound also has in south-eastern portion the barracks which are the remains of the British era.

The Sikh ruler had constructed a Gorkshanath templet in the southern part of the compound for Shiva, which still exits.

From 1838 to 1845, Paolo de Avitabile, an Italian mercenary and governor of Peshawar, resided at Gor Khatri. Later, the British Municipal Committee Peshawar housed a fire brigade station on the left eastern part. Later on the city police station and revenue office were also set up there.

The excavations were also carried out in 1992-93 and 1995-96. The culture department had also set up an artisan village to show case their efforts for preserving and promoting dying arts at the historic site.

The wedding hall was termed by visitors an eye-sour and out of place in the beautiful historic heritage site of Gor Khatri.

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2017