Prayers for Kashmir offered at Bhamal Stupa

Korean monks perform a traditional ceremony

HARIPUR: Nearly 13 centuries after the decline of Buddhism in the Gandhara region, traditional Buddhist prayers were offered for the first time at the Bhamala Stupa on Thursday, with special prayers offered for peace in Kashmir.

A special Buddhist prayer ceremony was organised at the stupa by the Centre for Culture and Development (C2D) in collaboration with the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Directorate of Archaeology and Museums (DOAM).

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A high-ranking Korean Buddhist Monk Neug-her Sinim — a 'Scholar in Residence' with the Gandhara Research and Resource Centre in Pakistan — offered special prayers along with a delegation of Buddhist monks from Korea.

The ceremony was held in cooperation with members of civil society and members from diverse faiths from across the world including the diplomatic community.

This is the first time prayers were offered at the site since the 7th century.

PHOTO: EXPRESS

Earlier, C2D Executive Director Dr Nadeem Omar Tarar kicked off the ceremony by talking about how his research and policy institution was working to create synergy between cultural capital and modern development.

For this purpose, he said that his organisation had initiated the Gandhara Research and Resource Centre in Taxila.

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Archaeology and Museums Director Dr Abdul Samad highlighted the importance of Pakistan’s Gandhara heritage.

The event was part of the government’s cultural diplomacy to highlight the Kashmir issue apart from promoting religious tourism to Gandhara as a pillar of Pakistan’s cultural diplomacy.

A large number of people turned up to express solidarity with the cause including students from the Quaid-i—Azam University, Hazara and Haripur universities among others.

A team of scholars and experts from Hast-o-Neest from Lahore also participated.