No progress on establishment of national museum

It is pertinent to note that thousands of rare ancient artefacts are at risk of going to ruin due to lack of facility

ISLAMABAD: Establishment of a national-level museum in Islamabad is scheduled for this year however, no serious effort can be seen by the authorities concerned in this regard, sources informed the APP.

The sources said that the architectural design of the proposed “National Museum of Pakistan” was finalised through a competition, soon after acquisition of 8.33 acres land at Shakarparian from the Capital Development Authority (CDA) in 2009.

The PC-I for Rs13,569.589 million was submitted to the authorities in 2008 but the project was suspended for two to three years by the then culture secretary due to financial constraints.

The Department of Archaeology and Museums (DOAM) again submitted PC-I of Rs55.577 million in September 2015 to the relevant ministry and the approval is still awaited.

Moreover, no major activity has been planned to mark the International Museum Day tomorrow (Wednesday) till the filing of this report.

It is pertinent to note that thousands of rare ancient artefacts are at risk of going to ruin due to absence of a proper facility in the federal capital.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 17^th, 2016.