KHAIRPUR, Dec 5: The two-day international workshop on conservation of cultural heritage of Sindh began at Shah Latif University here on Sunday. The workshop has been organised by the Endowment Fund Trust for Preservation of the Heritage of Sindh in collaboration with Unesco. The opening session was chaired by Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah. Convener of the workshop Syeda Nafisa Shah in her welcome address highlighted the significance of cultural heritage. She said Sindh had a unique place in world heritage with a lot to offer; unfortunately much of it was in a state of disrepair.

She said the 18th Amendment had created new opportunities along with new challenges for the provinces. She lauded the Sindh chief minister and Chairman of the Endowment Fund Trust, Jehangir Siddiqi for their efforts in making the workshop possible and in coming up with new schemes for conservation and preservation of heritage in Sindh.

Jehangir Siddiqi said heritage of Sindh had been destroyed because of lack of interest and inadequate funding. He said it was necessary to sensitise the public and other stakeholders to take measures to undertake projects to protect and highlight the artistic, cultural and historic heritage of Sindh.

Vice-Chancellor Shah Abdul Latif University Prof Dr Nilofer Shaikh gave a presentation on the state of archaeological heritage of Sindh. She said there were tangible sites from the Palaeolithic to recent history that needed attention. She claimed 23 districts of the province were replete with such sites and were facing natural, sporadic and anthropogenic threats. She discussed in detail the plight of places like Mohenjo Daro, Amri, Kot Diji, Rani Kot Fort, Makli Hills and Lakhan Jo Daro etc and said a scientific approach was needed for their conservation.

Director Unesco Pakistan Dr Warren Mellor praised the political will shown by the provincial government in preserving and conserving cultural heritage, but said it was beset by problems such as floods and terrorism. He said a lot of work needed to be done to develop infrastructure in Sindh to attract tourists. He said it was time for action. He told the gathering Category II meant Unesco could offer technical assistance not funding to develop a centre of excellence. He praised the possibility of developing a master's degree course concerned with archaeological conservation.

Provincial Minister for Culture Sassui Palijo said Sindh had a 5000-year old civilisation, older than Egypt and China. “Ancient sites are our treasure and their upkeep is our responsibility,” she commented. She said archaeology was now a provincial subject but due to lack of funds there were some initial problems.

Qaim Ali Shah said the Sufis of Sindh spread the message of peace but there were elements in recent times that disrupted its tranquillity and took to terrorism. He said the signing of an MoU between Unesco and the government of Sindh for cooperation in conservation endeavours was a step in the right direction. He said he would like the departments of culture and antiquities to work hand in hand.

The first technical session of the workshop was to be chaired by Sassui Palijo but she had left early so it was chaired by Justice (retd) Ali Hasan Jaffery.

Programme Specialist WHC Paris Alexandra Zu Sayn-Wittgenstein gave a presentation on world heritage policies, support and initiatives for developing countries for conservation of heritage properties.

Architect and conservationist Yasmeen Lari spoke on the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act 1994 and identified certain loopholes in it. She suggested a special fund for the maintenance of historic sites and said that rules should be finalised.

Abdul Hamid Akhund in his impassioned speech pointed out the apathy of the government officials and the advisory committee towards such an important issue. He began by lamenting that two of the departments concerned (culture and antiquities) were not represented in the first session of the workshop. He narrated an incident related to the restoration work on Dabgir Mosque. He said he had told the officials concerned that tiles of the mosque should be taken off until such time restoration work was carried out, but he later got to know that some of the tiles were taken away.

In the second session, chaired by Unesco consultant Michael Jansen, Dr Fazal Dad Kakar gave a presentation on conservation of monuments and sites maintained by the Federal Department of Archaeology and Museums.

Prof Ihsan Ali of Khan Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, spoke, followed by Abdul Fateh Daudpoto's presentation on the current state of Lal Shabaz Qalandar's tomb. It generated a lot of heated and passionate discussion.

The third session chaired by Professor Ihsan Ali began with Wajahat Ali's presentation on the case of Shigar Fort (Baltistan).

This was followed by a brief presentation from two representatives of the antiquities department on different rehabilitation work that the department had undertaken.

Kamil Khan Mumtaz delivered an extempore speech suggesting heritage meant 'living a culture.' The last presentation of the day was given by Yasmeen Lari on the topic of showcasing urban conservation in Pakistan.