TAXILA: The head of the Italian Archaeologist Mission in Pakistan, Dr Luca Maria Oliveri, on Monday said that his team intended to play a pivotal role in providing support for excavation, preservation and restoration of archaeological sites in Pakistan.

Talking to media, he said the law and order situation will not deter the Italian mission from its goal.

Dr Oliveri said that the Italian Archaeologist Mission will also train local archaeologists and provide them with the required equipment. He talked about Italian and Pakistani collaboration in the field of archaeology over the last six decades.

He said the Swat Museum had been set up in 1958 as a joint venture between Pakistan and Italy.

He said Italian archaeologists had been extremely concerned about the museum during insurgency in the valley.

Read: Swat museum a victim of obscurantism

In 2009, the museum building was damaged in a bomb blast and Italy began contributing funds for the construction of a new building, he added.

When asked about how tourism can be promoted in Pakistan, Dr Oliveri said promotional activities such as declaring 2007 ‘Visit Pakistan Year’ have yielded good results.

Also read: Swat Museum reopens after seven years

He said that during 2013-2014, 150 per cent growth in the number of tourists to archeological sites in Swat was witnessed.

Most of these tourists came from other parts of Pakistan but some also came from Buddhist countries.

In response to another question, he said that it is true that few international archaeologists and missions are currently working in Pakistan and there is a greater orientation towards Afghanistan.

Also read: Buddha attacked by Taliban gets facelift in Pakistan

“One reason may be that the flow of funds is oriented towards Afghanistan. However, our team has remained here as we think our commitment towards archaeological projects takes precedence over the flow of funds. Money is just a tool,” he said.

Published in Dawn, February 10th, 2015

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