Indifferent to history

Centuries-old historical objects and monuments are once again under threat in Afghanistan.

Officials in Badakhshan say armed opponents of the government recently set on fire five relics in a shrine of Naser Khesraw, a scholar

Centuries-old historical objects and monuments are once again under threat in Afghanistan.

Officials in Badakhshan say armed opponents of the government recently set on fire five relics in a shrine of Naser Khesraw, a scholar who lived in the fourth Hijra century in Yamagan district. The official who is the in charge at AKDN (Agha Khan Development Network) told the Pajhwok News Agency that the Taleban while capturing the district of Yamagan broke a 150-year-old door of the shrine and burned down its front area. “They shot down the signboard and destroyed the door where the guardians of the shrine sat. All the glass and the lock of the shrine was also broken but not destroyed because there were inscriptions from the Holy Quran on the lock.”

Sayed Burhan who is one of the manjawar (a person who lives next to a shrine) says that when the Taleban entered the district they first attacked the shrine and a 300-year-old madrasa in its vicinity called Mullah Barat which AKDN had recently reconstructed.

Government officials claim they are ill equipped to prevent the vandalism of places of historical interest. Sher Ali Qasemi, head of culture and information in Badakhshan says, “We don’t have the force to save historical relics from all threats. This is the task of government and security forces.” He claims to have sent many letters to the provincial police headquarters as well as Directorate of National Security and the governor’s office about the threat to historical sites but there has been no response. “Areas where Taleban are under control, historical objects face a threat,” he says.

Will the shrine be restored? AKDN’s Khesraw   says a proposal for reconstruction has been sent to the central office together with a guarantee letter from local people that they would not let the shrine be destroyed again.

Reckless construction

UNESCO, which keeps track of world heritage sites, has, according to ToloNews written to the government about reckless building activity near historical monuments. There is a construction boom, which is fuelled by big money including from drug trafficking, but there are no controls.

Beheshti Fakoori, Member of Parliament (MP) from Bamyan, is of the same view. He says, “Unfortunately the government has not paid attention to UNESCO’s warning and tall buildings are being built in violation of the master plan (in Mazar-e-Sharif).”

Sayed Musadeq Khalili, deputy minister of culture in the Ministry of Information & Culture blames local officials for not assisting in keeping monuments safe. “We request them to help the ministry but local authorities do not respond positively to our pleas,” he says.

Bamyan Governor Taher Zaheer claims no one is allowed to build around heritage sites. He says that in instances where people built clandestinely at night, officials have stopped the work.

“We have always prevented them, we are committed to save these ancient buildings from destruction,” he insists.

Nangarhar province is also facing serious threat. There is a turf war between Taleban and Daesh militants, supporters of the Islamic State (ISIS). Officials in the provincial culture and information department say the recent fighting has made it tougher for them to safeguard the many places of historical interest in the province.

They fear the escalating violence could threaten historical buildings all across the province.

Nangarhar has great historical interest with caves, mosques and ruins in old areas in towns and villages that are under the control of the Taleban and difficult for security forces to safeguard. Mohammad Aslam Hadawal, in-charge of the provincial museum in Hadda, says none of the sites are protected “properly”. “Most of the monuments (for instance) are located outside the city (Jalalabad) and hence there is need to protect them,” he says.

Mohammad Asef Shinwarai, an archaeologist in an interview to Voice of America, says the Hadda museum is all but destroyed, and historical objects in Nazarabad and Sultanpoor, a township, taken over.

Irresponsible

The Fort of Ikhtiaruddin in Herat has immense historical interest but it continues to be neglected despite repeated warnings from visitors and locals. According to reports, a medieval wall collapsed in an area called Payan Abshahr and killed six people. Locals blamed the government and the department of culture and information for not paying attention to the wall.

Wali Shah Bahra, a culture activist, says the government has done nothing to buy back and restore the many walls (barays) that were sold more than 60 years ago. “My big complaint against UNESCO is that because Herat is a world heritage site, its monuments are protected. In fact, the department of culture and information is generally indifferent,” says Bahra.

However, Arya Rawoofian, the head of culture and information in Herat rejects the claim and says only some 30 percent of monuments are threated and the government is trying to stop the destruction but failing because of budgetary constraints.

“We are seriously concerned about the famous minarets of Herat because they are leaning dangerously. We have blocked the square around the minarets, and frequently suggested to the government to provide us with the budget for rehabilitation of the minarets,” he says.