Preserving Taxila

Photographs shared with Pakistan's Permanent Delegate to UNESCO in Paris have raised serious concerns about restoration work carried out by the Punjab archaeology department at Mohra Moradu and Sirkap, two of the most significant sites within the Taxila World Heritage complex. Original walls have allegedly been demolished, new construction carried out in their place, structural heights raised and cement used in violation of conservation standards.

The Department of Archaeology and Museums has since written to the Punjab authorities warning that if corrective action is not taken, the sites could be placed on UNESCO's List of World Heritage in Danger. Nearly a month has passed without a response. UNESCO's warning carries weight beyond Taxila. Pakistan has long struggled to secure recognition for its heritage, with several sites still awaiting inscription. Questionable restoration practices damage international credibility and weaken the country's broader claims to heritage stewardship. Taxila's significance must be realised as a place where the ancient world's great civilisations physically intersected, and what remains in its stones is evidence of that intersection that exists nowhere else. The Gandharan art, which fused Buddhist iconography with Hellenistic sculptural forms, is found nowhere else in the world in its original context.

The Punjab archaeology department insists its work meets international standards. If that is true, it should welcome independent scrutiny. If it is not, the damage must be honestly assessed and halted. The federal government must now commission an independent expert review of the works, with findings made public. Provincial and federal heritage bodies must establish a functioning chain of accountability. Pakistan has genuine ambitions to bring more of its historic sites before international bodies. Those ambitions rest entirely on its reputation as a responsible steward. Heritage management cannot succeed through fragmented decision-making or institutional silence. Clear standards and expert oversight must guide every intervention.