PESHAWAR: The Buner police have busted a five-member gang for illegally excavating an archaeological site on the outskirts of Chinglai area.

The gang was headed by a historian and writer, who impersonated as government representative.

The documents revealed that not only did Farhad Ali Khawar, who wrote in local dailies about history and archaeology, falsely claim to be a representative of the provincial government but he also used the ‘official letter pads’ to warn the residents of Chinglai Dambaru Dheri and Baniya Mera Nogram Khadokhel areas against growing crops on the occupied fields.

Police say four held, their leader, a historian, goes into hiding

Khawar told the people that if they grew crops or allowed the local smugglers to damage their fields standing on a possible archaeological site until his survey was completed, he would lodge an FIR under the Antiquities Act, 2016, against them. He even barred them from selling their land.

Officials of the Buner police and archaeology department told Dawn that Khawar was allegedly spearheading the illegal digging in the area and had been issuing warnings and notices to the owners of the fields, which were of the archaeological importance, as project director and representative of the archaeology secretary.

“Five men were charged with conducting illegal digging in Dambaru Dheri. Four have been arrested, while Farhad Ali Khawar has gone into hiding,” said official of the relevant Buner police station Qamar Zaman.

He said a case had been registered under the Pakistan Penal Code Section 471 (using as genuine a false document), Section 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), Section 465 (forgery), Section 419 (cheating by impersonation) and Section 417 (punishment for cheating) as well as under sections 32-44 and 62 of the Antiquities Act, 2016, in the Chinglai police station.

The involvement of Mr Khawar, a researcher of archaeology and history, and the writer of a book, Gumnam Pakhtun Heroes, in an unauthorised archaeological excavation is shocking for many as the rumours about and allegations of the artifact smuggling come out only when a consignment is busted at airports.

Though the police often don’t properly deal with such cases for lacking awareness of the relevant laws as well as archaeology, the Buner police busted the gang without wasting time and took the legal course by filing an FIR.

The gang was busted after the Buner police tried to verify the illegal digging activity and the staff involved with the archaeology department.

On the notice of the department, the police charged Mr Khawar and four others posing as his staff members, including Salahuddin of the Uch Dir, Mir Afzal Khan of Mingora, Asad Khan of Batkhela and Subhan Ali of Mardan, under the relevant laws with carrying out unlicensed excavation, damaging archaeological site, and impersonation.

Officials of the archaeology department expressed surprise at a historian’s alleged involvement in forgery, impersonation, and illegal digging at an archaeological site.

“It is a different kind of organised crime in which a person impersonated a government representative to do an illegal activity. I am happy that the police acted timely and busted the gang,” said an official of the archaeology department.

He said as the police had done their job, he hoped that the court would punish the culprits to check such crimes.

Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2018