PESHAWAR: Awami National Party (ANP) rejected “Gandhara Corridor Bill” submitted to National Assembly by MNA Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani and described it a conspiracy to deprive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of its archaeological assets.

ANP provincial spokesperson Samar Haroon Bilour said in a statement here on Thursday that more than 90 per cent sites of Gandhara civilisation in Pakistan were situated in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. She said that the bill was a conspiracy to seize the relics of the existing Gandhara civilisation in KP.

“After the passage of 18th Amendment, tourism and archaeology is a provincial department. If the antiquities are in Pakhtunkhwa, the province has the authority to legislate about it,” she said.

The ANP leader said that any legislation about the Gandhara corridor would be against the 18th Amendment and provincial autonomy. Reacting to the submission of the bill by MNA Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, she said that the federation had already attacked Gandhara in the form of Gandhara Culture Authority Act, 2023, which was not acceptable to her party.

Ms Bilour, who is also a former MPA, asked MNA Dr Ramesh Kumar to withdraw the bill immediately. She said that the same member of National Assembly was also in the forefront in establishing Gandhara Culture Authority.

The ANP spokesperson said that the lawmaker from Sindh should bring a bill regarding Harappa and Mohenjo-daro instead of KP’s historical resources. She said that Gandhara civilisation and its remains had an important role in the sources of income of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

She said that her party would not tolerate such tactics to snatch the resources of the province. “The province is already deprived of other rights including electricity and natural gas net hydel profit and NFC award. It is hoped that Chief Minister Gandapur and PTI members from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in National Assembly will raise their voice against this bill,” she added.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2024