LARKANA: The executive board of the National Fund for Moenjodaro (NFM) on Friday decided to organise a series of events next year in Islamabad, all provincial capitals and Paris to celebrate the 100th anniversary of discovery of the ancient civilisation.

A plan for the centennial celebration would be presented to the provincial cabinet for approval with request to form a high-powered ministerial committee in this regard, Sikandar Hulio, a member of the board said.

The decision was taken at the 18th meeting of the board held in a local hotel. Sindh Minister for Culture Syed Sardar Shah chaired the meeting.

Archaeology and Museum director Abdul Fatah Shaikh said that a series of events were planned to be held in Islamabad and all provincial capitals. The final event would be held in Paris next year, he added.

According to him, the NFM would invite Unesco (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation), Paris, to join in the centenary celebrations.

Pakistan’s foreign office and the British embassy in Islamabad would contact the family of Sir John Marshall — who first initiated excavation at the ancient site as the director general of the Archaeological Survey of India — to also join in the celebrations, he said.

The meeting decided to install a statue of Sir John Marshall at a suitable place at Moenjodaro and produce a short animated film on the ancient ruins.

As part of the celebration, two books on Moenjodaro and Indus Valley civilisation, besides the unpublished material, map, field diaries and research work, would be published. The board also decided to hold a training workshop regarding conservation of the discovered ruins and artefacts.

It also decided that the site’s master plan would be revised and updated in consultation with the experts of the field by the end of this year.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2021