Sehwan fort finally draws authorities' attention

The erosion of the Sehwan fort due to human activity has finally drawn the attention of the authorities, as Hyderabad commissioner Muhammad Abbas Baloch asked officials to vacate the government offices located in the fort's premises on Thursday.

The directives were given at a meeting of the committee formed by the Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah for the fort's conservation.

Asking Jamshoro deputy commissioner Capt (retd) Fariduddin Mustafa to survey the fort's land, Baloch said that any encroachments identified during the survey should immediately be removed.

"The opinion of archaeology officials and the Endowment Fund Trust (EFT) should be taken for development projects so that the fort is not affected," he added.

EFT chairperson Abdul Hameed Akhund told the meeting that a team of French archaeologists, led by Dr Monique Kervran, had excavated the fort and conducted research there from 1996 to 2002. "The team found artifacts dating back to 400BC from the fort," he disclosed, adding that the EFT and the provincial government wanted to preserve the fort.

With its real name still not known, the fort has long been associated with legends, located as it is near the shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar. Residents of Sehwan Sharif often refer to it as Kafir Fort, Sikandari's Fort or the old fort - or 'ulti basti' (the upside-down fort), in line with the legend that it was turned upside down as a result of Qalandar's anger at the ruler.