Islamabad: Exposing a massive governance failure and acute negligence in preserving shared global history, Pakistan has drawn severe international flak after UNESCO, the cultural arm of the United Nations, issued a stern warning to Islamabad over highly flawed “conservation work” at the ancient Vedic-era archaeological complex of Taxila.
The reckless structural intervention by Pakistani administrative units at one of South Asia’s most critically revered mahavihara complexes has triggered widespread international scrutiny. The country’s Department of Archaeology and Museums (DOAM) deployed modern masonry and cement under the guise of preservation, directly violating UNESCO’s internationally accepted principles for safeguarding ancient monuments, Dawn reported.
According to the Pakistan-based newspaper Dawn, UNESCO has warned Islamabad that these recent high-handed interventions at various parts of the iconic World Heritage Site have severely compromised its historic authenticity and integrity.
The UN agency made it clear that unless immediate corrective measures are implemented by the authorities, Taxila could be placed on the organisation’s List of World Heritage in Danger.
The brewing controversy underscores Islamabad’s ongoing geopolitical stratagem to aggressively appropriate the Indus Valley Civilisation and its rich pre-Islamic history for global optics.
Today, known as Taxila, the historic city of Takshashila has been heavily commercialised through state tourism campaigns, museum projects, and heritage initiatives. Yet, the systemic failure on the ground shows a complete disregard for the site’s unique Vedic, Buddhist, and Greco-Buddhist heritage, which preserves irreplaceable structural remains from the Achaemenid, Mauryan, Indo-Greek, and Kushan periods.
The physical defacement revolves around unscientific restoration carried out at Sirkap and Mohra Moradu, two monumentally vital segments within the sprawling complex. Citing officials in Pakistan’s Ministry of National Heritage and Culture, Dawn reported that UNESCO raised serious, high-level objections during a recent emergency meeting with senior government officials.
According to Dawn, the UN agency bluntly classified the local modifications as “unnecessary interventions” that systematically undermine the site’s core historical authenticity, warning that it would not hesitate to take strict retaliatory action if the structural changes were not completely reversed.
The newspaper further reported that UNESCO explicitly reminded Pakistani officials of its zero-tolerance policy, noting that it had previously expunged a prominent World Heritage Site in Germany from the prestigious list–a direct signal that Taxila faces similar humiliation and expulsion if conservation norms continue to be violated by local departments.
The systemic apathy first came to light in March after an alert visitor shared damning photographs of the botched masonry work with Pakistan’s Permanent Delegate to UNESCO in Paris.
Dawn also reported that it had reviewed photographs of the archaeological sites in question. The newspaper said there was fresh masonry replacing sections of ancient walls.
The report also claimed that while the original stonework consisted of irregularly shaped ancient stones, the newer additions were made using polished, uniformly sized modern materials.
Even local administrative elements quoted by the Karachi-based newspaper conceded the blunder, arguing that the use of cement and modern masonry in the name of conservation violated UNESCO’s internationally accepted principles for preserving archaeological monuments.
Following the international embarrassment, UNESCO conducted a joint technical inspection of the Taxila Museum and adjacent ruins on June 12 alongside Pakistani ministries. During the review, the under-fire Punjab archaeology department of Pakistan scrambled to assemble a presentation to defend its conservation work.
The escalating dispute carries severe, long-term implications for Pakistan’s geopolitical ambitions, in which it is using its pre-Islamic heritage to bluff the world on the Indus Waters Treaty.
Officials cited by Dawn warned that the latest controversy could heavily weaken Islamabad’s desperate efforts to secure UNESCO recognition for 24 additional heritage sites, an exercise that has remained completely stagnant since 1997.
Pakistan’s active proposals for historic sites like the Buddhist ruins of Rani Ghat and the Scytho-Parthian location of Bhanbhore are now expected to face severe blowback and rejection during the upcoming deliberations of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.
Despite the visible damage, Pakistan’s Punjab archaeology department has aggressively rejected the global criticism. Its Director General, Malik Zaheer Abbas, told Dawn that the claims regarding the ongoing work as “reconstruction” were inaccurate.
Abbas maintained that the interventions were conservation measures aimed at stabilising vulnerable archaeological remains, preventing further deterioration, and preserving the site’s authenticity in line with internationally accepted conservation principles.
Defending the irreversible modifications, Abbas added that there was “no question” of reversing reconstruction because the work involved conservation rather than rebuilding.
Taxila holds a sacred and peerless position in the civilisational history of the Indian subcontinent. Located near Islamabad, the ancient city formed the heart of the historic kingdom of Gandhara, heavily chronicled in the Indian epics Ramayana, Mahabharata, and several ancient Sanskrit texts.
Flourishing between the 6th century BCE and the 5th century CE, it stood as the world’s earliest renowned seat of higher learning, traditionally associated with legendary ancient Indian scholars like Chanakya (Kautilya) and the pioneer physician Charaka.
The site was inscribed by UNESCO in 1980, and the current confrontation highlights Pakistan’s gross inability to preserve a shared civilisational legacy stretching back to the Vedic age. (With inputs from ANI)
