ISLAMABAD: The government is working on a plan to preserve and renovate a historic building in Sarai Kharbooza and a mosque in the Margallas through the archaeology department, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said on Thursday.

The minister was addressing a gathering of diplomats, experts and researchers at the Institute of Regional Studies where vice president of the Council of Social Sciences Dr Nadeem Omar Tarar was giving a talk on ‘Pakistan and Central Asia: Cementing Friendship through Cultural Bonds’.

Mr Hussain said he will direct the archaeology department to preserve and renovate a historic building in Sarai Kharbooza and a mosque in the Margallas built during the time of Sultan Mehmood Ghaznavi which are crumbling.

He made the promise during Dr Tarar’s presentation when he mentioned that the two buildings are in a dilapidated condition.

Dr Tarar said Central Asia is comprised of five former Soviet republics- Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. But culturally, often other areas are included in Central Asia including Mongolia, Afghanistan, Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral in northern Pakistan, northeastern Iran, and Xinjiang, the western region of China.

Unfortunately, efforts have not been made by successive governments to revive and strengthen historical and cultural ties between Central Asia and South Asia, he lamented.

He said that international colonial and imperialist powers and the Czarist Russia created boundaries by dividing Central Asia into five states and created hurdles within the Central Asian states as well as between Central Asia and South Asia.

Central Asian civilizations and cultures have greatly influenced South Asian society, architectural heritage and literature, he said.

He said Pakistan being gateway to Central Asia had no direct contacts with Central Asia until they got independence in the early 90s. Dr Tarar and other speakers including former Ambassador Sarwar Naqvi stressed on cementing friendship bonds with Central Asian Republics (CARs) through cultural diplomacy and exchange programmes in higher education, research, sports, drama, electronic media, publications and exhibitions, and cultural troupes. They also called for building land and air routes to strengthen economic and trade ties as well as tourism between Pal Stan and CARs.

They also called for promotion of Central Asian languages and literature by including them in college and universities curriculums.

Explaining the shared histories and common heritages, Dr Tarar said the historical links between Central Asia and South Asia goes back to pre-historic time as the cultural influence of Greco-Bactrian kingdom originating from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in 200BC led to the splendour of Gandhara sculptures. It also influenced the city planning, architecture, and arts of the Indus Valley.

In 100BC Scythians who ruled Central Asia entered the present day Pakistan and left an indelible imprint on our culture. They were perhaps the ones whom Sindh is named after. They also gave the names of cities ending with suffix “Kand” such as Samrkand, Tashkent, Malakand etc. and promoted Buddhism and rock carvings in Gilgit-Baltistan, Swat which are similar to those in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

He described the Kushan dynasty as the golden era during which the Gandhara art flourished and became a vehicle for the expansion of Buddhism spreading to China. Kushans laid the foundation of cultural affinity of present day Pakistan and Central Asia citing some common nomenclature such as Shahinshah, shalwar kameez, sherwani which originated from Kushans of Central Asia.

Dr Tarar also spoke about intellectual fermentation and influence from Central Asia and mentioned the contribution of Al-Beruni, one of the greatest mathematicians, traveller and historian of the 10th century from Khwarizm, in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan in the promotion of philosophy, and science in the subcontinent. He also mentioned the influence of Abu Ali Sina, another greatest scientist and philosopher and astrologer who had had a great impact on the subcontinent and the world.

The influence of architectural and funerary traditions of Central Asia can be seen on Pakistan’s heritage such as mausoleums of Shah Rukn-i-Alam in Multan, and Mahra Sharif.

About infusion of Sufism from Central Asia, Dr Tarar mentioned the Ali Hujwiri from Central Asia after whom Data ki Nagri is named. Khawaja Moeenuddin Chishti, the 12th Century saint from Central Asia spread Islam in the subcontinent.

He regretted that the debate on the shared histories and cultural heritage of the two regions of Asia has not been carried forward even after the independence of the five former Soviet republics. Central Asia comprising of Uzbekistan,Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan does not appear on the mental map of our policy makers, he said.

“Pakistan’s geo-strategic location makes it as much a part of South Asia as it is of Central Asia,” Dr Tarar said.

Tracing the historical and cultural links which runs deep into the civilizations ethos of the two regions, he said Pakistan and CARs are linked from ancient time of Silk Road which transported Buddhism from Taxila to Central Asia to the medieval empires in South Asia including the Mughals.About the cultural links, he said the imprint of CARs on the social fabric of Pakistan is reflected in its architectural heritage, cuisines, art, music, folklore literature,language and customs.

Published in Dawn, December 14th, 2018