These days, the local government is paying a lot of attention to the renovation of Peshawar and Qisa Khwani Bazaar has been decorated a lot, which is a very good development but this process should be extended to other areas of the city so that the drainage problems can be solved there as well.
The above actions of the provincial government and local administration are worthy of praise but one important problem they ignore is that due to dozens of damaged buildings in the provincial capital Peshawar, the lives of thousands of residents have been seriously threatened but no steps have been taken by the provincial government to secure the lives of the residents of the damaged buildings.
While the owners are also refusing to leave the damaged buildings. Incidents of parts of damaged buildings collapsing at different places inside the city are coming to light every day. Citizens living in different areas are afraid of the damaged buildings.
A major tragedy can happen in the dilapidated buildings located in the middle of the bazaars at any time, leading to the loss of precious lives. Inside the city traces of dilapidated buildings are visible at various places, but the residents of these tumble-down buildings are avoiding to vacate the buildings.
Apart from this, there are hundreds of such buildings in different districts of the province which pose a threat to human lives. In this regard, the Department of Archeology is also working and has issued notices to the owners of many buildings but the owners are refusing to leave the possession due to which there are problems.
According to the report of a reputable organization the documents taken from the Department of Archeology Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 113 historical buildings, tunnels, stupas, archeology, bridges, cemeteries, shrines and other antiquities have been damaged in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the last five years, i.e. from 2019 to 2023. This damage occurred in Peshawar, Khyber district, DI Khan, Swat, Nowshera, Charsadda, Mardan have been delivered in these districts, where there are historical places.
Under these charges, applications have been filed against more than 100 accused in different police stations, out of which 38 accused. The Department of Archeology has registered FIRs for violation of the Antiquities Act but no one has been fined and no one has been sent to jail.
Peshawar is at the top in damaging antiquities and archeology where 12 cases have been registered so far and more than a dozen applications have been filed in police stations. Most of these cases are for demolition of historical buildings, and Swabi is number two where cases have been registered against six people so far.
In Swat district which is famous for Buddhist relics, FIR has been registered against only three people so far. Two FIRs have been registered in Mansehra, Charsadda, Haripur, one each in Abbottabad and Khyber but no one has been punished or fined.
It should be remembered that for this purpose, the former Tehreek-e-Insaf government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had passed the Antiquity Act in 2016 to protect historical buildings and artifacts. According to the law, wherever historical or cultural sites or objects that are 100 years old or more are declared as national heritage, action will be taken to those who damage them. However, it is important to explain here that most of the ancient buildings in Peshawar are occupied by very poor people who have no proper shelter, so they are forced to live in these dangerous decayed buildings. Therefore, reasonable arrangements should be made at the government level for the restoration of these houses so that the age of these buildings can be increased and the buildings which have completely decayed should be demolished then rebuilt in an ancient style so that this will help the city. The beauty can also be maintained and the lives of the residents can also be protected. It is hoped that while the Chief Minister is showing his keen interest in other problems of the province, he will also take a deep interest in the historical heritage of the province, especially in Peshawar he will pass orders to save its heritage.
