MINGORA The 2000-year-old heritage of Swat is now at the mercy of militants loyal to Maulana Fazlullah. They had made their intentions clear from day one symbols of pre-Islamic cultures are an abomination and must be destroyed.

The Swat museum, a repository of relics dating as far back as to the 3rd century BC, has itself turned into a picture of ruin.

The museum was taken over by the Army after it launched the operation in 2007. An explosion at a nearby army premises and the hostels of the Jehanzeb College badly damaged parts of the building in February of last year. Insiders told Dawn that 150 items of pottery dating back to the 1st century BC fell to the ground from the impact of the blast.

The transportation of the damaged pottery to a Taxila-based laboratory for repair has been posing a challenge to the museum staff and law enforcement agencies due to fear of attacks by militants. The curator, Mohammad Aqleem, has appealed to the authorities for security. But so far no law enforcement agency has responded to the curator's SOS.

It has now been decided to bring experts to Swat so that they could repair the broken pottery, but the when and the how are being kept secret. All the items which were once on display in the eight-gallery museum have been removed to an unknown place. In the wake of threats by the Fazlullah-led Taliban, only a handful of the 54 people employed at the museum could be seen in the compound.

Located in the heart of Mingora city, the museum looks like a military fort from the outside — its entrance protected by sandbags and bunkers. From the inside it is no more than a jail. Aqleem and his family have been living in the museum premises and have restricted their movements. They are being guarded by the Army. The curator, who has chosen to stay in Swat despite the lurking danger, sat brooding over the fate awaiting a once serene valley.

He recalls, with a tinge of sadness, that it was on one Saturday night in Nov 2007 that the historic statue of Buddha in the Jihanabad area of Swat was blown up by militants. 'This was the second attack on the seventh century statue of Buddha,' he observed with a wry smile. The fresh attack had caused irreparable loss to the head of the statue and also damaged its shoulders.

'It was a most complete and inspiring symbol of Gandhara art,' Aqleem said, looking up to the ceiling of his office. The room which now serves as his office was once a dining room for guests. His office is no longer safe for him. After the destruction of the Bamiyan statue of Afghanistan, the one in Swat was the most awesome. It stood seven metres tall, showing Buddha in meditation.

The museum was founded in 1959 by the Wali (head) of the then state of Swat. Its building was designed by an Italian architect, Vittonio Cardi, and renovated in 1992 thanks to a Japanese grant in 1992. Its items cannot be displayed anywhere else except Swat for it is a site museum.

'The museum will reopen only after peace returns to the valley,' Aqleem said.

And peace is what the people of Swat are dying for.