National history ministry devises strategy to preserve Shah Allah Ditta caves

ISLAMABAD: Ministry of Information, National History and Literary Heritage Additional Secretary Syed Junaid Akhlaq has said the national history and literary heritage ministry in cooperation with the archaeological department will preserve and protect the crumbling ancient caves at Shah Allah Ditta.

Junaid Akhlaq said that the ministry had designed a complete plan and a strategy to preserve the heritage sites in Islamabad.

He said data about the historical sites of Shah Allah Ditta and Ban Faqaryan had been collected.

The additional secretary said that work on the project was likely to start in March after funds were released by the ministry.

Akhlaq said a three-member committee would oversee the project and collect any relics discovered from the site.

The Shah Allah Ditta caves, in the Margalla Hills on the suburbs of Islamabad, boast Buddhist murals which date back some 2,500 years.

For local and foreign visitors, the caves are a popular site. People come here to reconnect with history.

On January 8, Minister for National History and Literary Heritage Shafqat Mehmood had said the federal government had planed to establish a heritage fund for the upkeep and preservation of cultural sites across the country.

Mehmood had said this while chairing a meeting of the Coordination Committee on Heritage Sites of Pakistan in Islamabad.