KP archaeology dept, ETPB lock horns over historical sites

[ahlam1399]

LAHORE: The Khayber Pakhtunkhwa Directorate of Archaeology and Museums has unilaterally taken over many properties in control of federal government’s Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) in Peshawar, generating a controversy between the two departments making the latter to obtain a stay order against the move.The ETPB has also sought an official explanation from the KPK Archaeology Department for taking over certain properties, including holy sites of Sikhs and Hindus, in Peshawar, The News has learnt.ETPB secretary Tariq Khan said after the KPK Assembly had passed a resolution asking the federal government to hand over some of the old sites located in the KPK to the provincial archaeology department, it (the department) put up notices on certain properties claiming its takeover. The properties included Sikh Gurdwara Bhai Bibian Singh, Keirat temple of Hindus and Chacha Yunus Park, Puj-Teerath, and the notices said that from onwards these sites would be overseen by the Archaeology department.The ETPB secretary said that the department had also evicted illegal occupants of the sites in the past. He said ETPB deputy administrator Humayun Khan had obtained a stay order against the action of the Archaeology department from a local court, and issued notices to it to explain its position. He said the ETPB had also sent a letter to the KPK archaeology minister and secretary explaining that those properties were the sacred sites of Hindus and Sikhs and had been under administrative control of the ETPB under relevant laws and hence could not be handed over to any other department. The letter said that ETPB had been the custodian of these properties under the Management and Disposal Act 1975 and its protection, renovation and preservation was the responsibility of ETPB. Deputy administrator Humayun Khan said that archeology department’s action had caused concern among Sikhs and Hindus living in Pakistan and other parts of the world. He said the action had also created problems and badly affected the income of ETPB.The ETPB secretary has also asked the KPK Archeology Department to not interfere with the federal government affairs. He said the letter had also mentioned that the action of putting up notices created problems in getting rent and invoked disputes between tenants and the ETPB.Further it was mentioned in the letter that ETPB properties are attached to religious, educational and charitable institutions and governed under Evacuee Trust Properties (Management &Disposal) Actn.XIII OF 1975.Peshawar Archaeology Director Dr Abdul Samad told The News that the archeology department has decided to excavate, preserve and renovate the sacred places of minorities in the KPK, including the Punj Teerath, a Hindu sacred site, for the promotion of religious tourism in the country.He said the archaeology department would not take over the historic sites under control of the ETPB and those sites would be returned to it and opened to public after necessary preservation work. Therefore, the KPK government has notified Puj-Teerath site as protected archeological site under the Government of KPK Antiquity Act 2016.The domain of Archeology department starts when ETPB demolishes the historical building. They cannot demolish the site or historical places without our permission. We have made a request to the government and ETPB officials not to demolish the site and construct the building on sacred sites.Punj-teerath is a Hindu sacred site and was there for 2000 years. Temples were also made over there. The site was handed over to ETPB after independence. Now, the archeology department wants to excavate it and preserve it. After conservation, the site would be opened to the people across the world.According to the KPK government is not going claim ownership of the site. The department was not going to possess any property of ETPB, said the director.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/com/cwEr/~4/uURHmpx8200

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