KP announces development package for Buddhist sites in Mardan

Senior Minister Atif Khan says govt will set up chairlift, cafeteria at archaeological site

PESHAWAR: Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has announced a development package for preserving and promoting the Buddhist relics at Takht Bahi, Jamal Garhi and Shehbaz Garhi.

Senior Minister for Culture, Tourism and Youth Affairs Atif Khan said this during his visit to Buddhist sites in Mardan on Thursday.

“The K-P government will develop Buddhist sites at Takht Bahi, Jamal Garhi and Shehbaz Garhi as international tourism destinations,” he said announcing plans to construct chairlift to facilitate the tourists.

He also announced reopening of the thousands of years old passage to these ruins from Seri-Bahlol village of the district Mardan and constructing an art gallery and cafeteria at Takht Bahi archaeological site.

“Unesco has marked six archaeological sites in Pakistan as world heritage, including the Takht Bahi Buddhist ruins,” he said adding “we will preserve the heritage for the generations to come.”

Atif said that people of China, Korea and Japan were more interested in archaeological sites of the country than its own citizens. “We are looking forward to the federal government to facilitate the Chinese, Korean and Japanese tourists coming to visit the Buddhism holy places.”

We are also working with international communities to preserve the sites of the Buddhist related and soon showcased our site to the world to do visit the sites.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 4^th, 2019.