Preserving history

As the climate grows warmer in the low-altitude areas, thoughts turn to how this spring can bring with it the promise of a springboard to launch the country into a prosperous future. With traditional economic activity unable to fully shake off the jitters of slow growth and grey listings, Islamabad has one option to fall back on for generating money: tourism. Along with tech entrepreneurship, tourism formed a cornerstone of the PTI government’s strategy to stimulate the country’s economy, particularly at the grassroots. The idea seemed simple enough and much groundwork had been done by the PTI from its time at the helm of affairs in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) over the past five years. Enjoying power at the Centre and in Punjab, the country’s largest province by population, the PTI government has moved to increase tourism-related activities by holding festivals and events at tourist destinations. This year has already seen the most snow festivals being held in the valleys of K-P, including Malam Jabba, a tourist jewel of the country which had to be rebuilt after it had been ravaged by the militants.

But spring reminds one of the opportunities that other forms of tourism have to offer — religious and historical tourism. The K-P government has worked hard to position itself in this regard since it is host to two significant Buddhist sites — Takht-i-Bahi and the recently-discovered Bhamala. But there are other significant religious sites in the country as well, including for other faiths such as Hinduism and Sikhism that are scattered across the country. One site which could be significant for religious tourism in the country could be the stupa located near Mirpurkhas in Sindh, called Khao Jo Daro. The site, however, appears to have been forgotten by the authorities with scant attention paid to its preservation and excavation. Tourism can indeed help boost the country’s economy, but we must do our part to preserve and develop the sites holding tourism potential. 

Published in The Express Tribune, February 29^th, 2020.

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