'History teaches us how to live in harmony'

NHLH secretary says PC-II for a national museum in the capital has been approved

ISLAMABAD: The Department of Archaeology and Museums (DOAM) on Thursday arranged a function to mark International Museum Day with a pledge to promote peace and harmony among communities and societies belonging to different civilisations through museums carrying rich cultural heritage.

The event had been arranged at the Islamabad Museum, Sir Syed Memorial Complex and attended by a number of students from different educational institutions, officials of National History and Literary Heritage (NHLH) Division and DOAM, a statement said.

NHLH Division Federal Secretary Engineer Aamir Hasan said that the International Museum Day is celebrated with an objective to educate the people, especially young students, about ancient civilisations with the help of cultural relics and models housed in the museums.

“Our religion also teaches us to explore the history and relics and deliberating over their significance in our current life and future,” he observed.

Engineer Hasan said Pakistan was a treasure trove of historical places and monuments which are considered to be sacred places for the people of different religions. He said that the study of these archaeological relics had proved that people belonging from different civilisations can live together happily despite holding conflicting ideas.

Responding to a question, he said that the PC-II for establishing a state-of-the-art national museum in the federal capital had been approved while the designing work of the museum was in progress and was expected to cost around Rs2.9 million.

He lamented that thousands of artefacts were rotting away in the capital owing to the lack of a museum. He added that the new museum would serve as a central point to house the country’s precious heritage.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 19^th, 2017.