BAHAWALPUR: Ahead of initiation of the excavation work in Cholistan in a bid to discover relics from ruins in the area of Ganweriwala, the Punjab Directorate General Archaeology, Lahore, has asked for the security of the department’s employees involved in the project and the site area.

Dawn has learnt that the provincial archaeology department has written a letter to the regional and district police heads concerned of Bahawalpur seeking security.

The letter says the department’s teams have already reached in Cholistan and set up their camps at the excavation site, where the police security was urgently needed.

Besides, it says the police security was also required for the protection and safety of artifacts which may be discovered during the excavation at the ancient ruins in the desert.

The archaeology department staff is expected to start the excavation during the next week for which the preliminary arrangements were afoot.

The Punjab government, on the initiative of Punjab Governor Baligh-ur-Rehman, has already released a sum of Rs20 million for the excavation at the site in Cholistan.

The police spokespersons were unaware of the issue.

POLL TRAINING: The Indonesian embassy in Pakistan organized an awareness session in Bahawalpur on Tuesday for the Indonesian nationals living in south Punjab to guide them about casting their votes in the up-coming general elections to be held in their country.

The polling for the parliamentary elections and for the offices of the president and vice-president in Indonesia is scheduled for February 14, 2024.

The awareness session was addressed by the officials of Indonesian embassy, including Mr Nugroho, the in charge of the country’s election commission in the Indonesian foreign office in Islamabad.

The speakers apprised the Indonesian nationals of the procedure for their participation in the polling process to be held in the Indonesian embassy in Islamabad on Feb 14, 2023.

The voters (Indonesian nationals) would be provided transport facilities to got to Islamabad and return back to the respective Pakistani cities after casting their votes.

The Indonesian nationals residing in Bahawalpur, Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Vehari, Bahawalnagar, Rahim Yar Khan and Fort Abbas participated in the awareness session.

Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2023