MARDAN: A 45-member delegation of the South Korean monks on Friday visited the Buddhist sites located in Takhtbai tehsil of Mardan and performed religious rituals there.

The delegation led by Wan Hang also comprises eight women. They visited their 2,500-year-old sacred places located in Takhtbai city which has been included in the list of world heritage.

The Buddhist delegation was also accompanied by senior provincial minister for tourism and archaeology Mohammad Atif Khan, who also arranged a lunch for the Korean guests at his residence at Par Hoti.

Talking to mediapersons after lunch, Mr Wan Hang said they were very thankful to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and department of archaeology for measures to preserve and protect their religious sites located in different parts of the province.

He said preservation of the Buddhist places was the best example of religious harmony.

On the occasion, minister Mohammad Atif said that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf provincial government had allocated Rs1 billion for renovation and preservation of archaeological sites, including Buddhist places, located in different parts of the province.

He said that the KP government was spending huge funds in tourism sector with the purpose to attract both the national and international visitors.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2019