KARACHI: The city administration, along with building and maintaining urban infrastructure, is also striving to improve the protected heritage sites of the metropolis, Mayor Murtaza Wahab said on Friday.

While visiting the Frere Hall along with the Ambassador of Spain, Jose Antonio de Ory, the mayor briefed the foreign diplomat about the “rich culture” of the city and referred to the number of buildings which were declared protected heritage by the government due to their historic values.

“Karachi is an important city in terms of history and civilisation,” a statement quoted the mayor as briefing the Spanish ambassador. The government has declared historical buildings in Karachi as national heritage. During the British era, many historical buildings, including the Frere Hall, Mereweather Tower, KMC Building were raised. Besides Muslims, a large number of Christians, Hindus, Parsis and Sikhs are settled in Karachi reflecting the city’s cultural diversity.”

He said efforts were on to improve the infrastructure of Karachi and at the same time to maintain and improve all the heritage sites.

The mayor also briefed the ambassador about the ongoing projects in the city.

Visits Banbhore

The Spanish ambassador also visited the historical heritage site of Banbhore.

Accompanied by Culture and Tourism Minister Zulfiqar Ali Shah, the Spanish Ambassador visited Banbhore Museum, historical mosque and archaeological sites, and inspected the valuable artefacts and showed deep interest in the history, culture and archaeology of Banbhore.

The minister also briefed the Spanish ambassador about the history of Banbhore.

The ambassador expressed mutual cooperation in joint research on archaeology, saying that the history and monuments of Banbhore were the manifestation of the prosperity of the region, and with the joint cooperation on the history of Banbhore, the new doors of research opportunities will be opened for history lovers.

Mr Shah said that Pakistan and Spain had deep historical and cultural ties, and there was a need to promote tourism between the two countries, adding that the Spanish expertise will benefit the promotion of tourism in Sindh.

He said that the Sindh government was providing a safe and peaceful environment for tourism to all foreign tourists.

Published in Dawn, May 25th, 2024