ISLAMABAD: Since the passage of the 18th Amendment, the federal Department of Archaeology and Museums (DOAM) has been fighting with the provinces to retain control over several world heritage sites in the country. The turf war between the centre and the provincial archaeology departments has now come to head with the tampering of priceless ancient Buddhist relics at the world famous monastery at Jualian in Taxila.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Archaeology Department insists that they are working to ‘conserve’ the statues by restoring their heads, which were removed to the nearby museum for safekeeping. KP Archaeology Department Director Dr Abdul Samad says, “This is all part of conservation and promotion efforts in line with international standards. Once renovated, the site will give visitors an impression of what the statues and figures looked like when they were built 2,000 years ago.”

Also read: Tampering with ancient statues at Jualian stupa alleged

But officials at the DOAM argue that reconstructing the heads of the figurines – no matter how well-intentioned the effort – compromises the authenticity of the site and is considered tampering, which may lead to the site being placed on the endangered list of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco).

“No one can alter or reconstruct the heads of broken statues and busts that are over 2,000 years old. There is no record, blueprint or images of what the heads must have looked like and which head belonged to which bust. Meddling with the authenticity of the site is not worth the risk,” said Dr Fazal Dad Kakar, a former DOAM director general and a member of the Pakistan chapter of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (Icomos).

World heritage sites like Jualian mysteriously transferred to provinces despite falling under Federal list

The Icomos website describes the organisation as the only global NGO that works to conserve architectural and archaeological heritage through scientific techniques and strives to uphold the principles enshrined in the 1964 International Charter on the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites, also known as the Venice Charter. The charter is a code of professional standards that provides a framework for preservation and restoration of ancient buildings.

Article 9 of the Venice charter clearly states: “The process of restoration is a highly specialised operation. Its aim is to preserve and reveal the aesthetic and historic value of the monument and is based on respect for original material and authentic documents. It must stop at the point where conjecture begins, and in this case moreover any extra work which is indispensable must be distinct from the architectural composition and must bear a contemporary stamp. The restoration in any case must be preceded and followed by an archaeological and historical study of the monument.”

Since the passage of the 18th Amendment over four years ago, both federal and provincial archaeological departments have been fighting over ownership of more than 400 historical sites and monuments, including the six world heritage sites, including the Lahore Fort, Shalimar Gardens and Moenjodaro.

DOAM seeks to retain control over the world heritage sites, which it considers jewels in the country’s historical crown. The department maintains that the sites were wrongly transferred to the provinces, but the provincial archaeology departments, especially that in KP, wants the Centre to let go of these sites.

This tussle is not new. Sources told Dawn that the erstwhile Ministry of Culture, in its last days, managed to devolve control over the world heritage sites that should have remained with the Centre before its abolition on April 5, 2011. At least 403 sites and monuments on the Federal Legislative List, protected and governed by DOAM as national heritage under the Antiquities Act 1970, were passed into provincial control, despite the fact that only subjects on the Concurrent list were liable to be transferred to provincial control following the 18th Amendment.

The monuments, DOAM officials argue, should have stayed under federal control until it was decided that the province had the capacity to take over control of those sites, or at least until an order to the contrary was issued.

Letting world heritage sites remain on the federal list also makes sense because the government at the Centre is the focal point when it came to signing and/or negotiating international agreements and treaties.

But while DOAM maintains that no notification transferring control over any site or monument had been issued after devolution, Dr Abdul Samad asserts that following devolution, all archaeological remains and artefacts became properties of the KP government. He also claims that the KP archaeology department is now the focal point for all sites and monuments located in the province.

But last year, Unesco rejected ‘country reports’ on the conditions, damages, threats and conservation efforts submitted to it by the provinces, saying that it only recognised the federal government – which was the original signatory to UNESCO conventions on world heritage sites – as a focal point.

But red-tape aside, Dr Kakar maintains that, “Nobody can tamper with the authenticity of a world heritage site, let alone hire craftsmen to ‘restore’ a centuries-old sire such as Jualian, which has a historic as well as religious significance for Buddhists around the world.”

Published in Dawn, November 3rd, 2014