Senate Body Reviews Heritage Protection Laws, Seeks Early Resolution for National Museum
ISLAMABAD, (APP – UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – September 10, 2026) The Senate Standing Committee on National Heritage and Culture reviewed the existing legal framework for protecting and preserving national heritage sites on Thursday and directed the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and Ministry of National Heritage and Culture to resolve the outstanding land transfer issue for the construction of the National Museum of Pakistan at Shakarparian at the earliest.
The meeting, chaired by Senator Hidayatullah Khan at Parliament Lodges, also addressed a starred question regarding laws governing heritage sites and received a briefing on the proposed National Museum project.
Senator Syed Waqar Mehdi, Senator Bushra Anjum Butt, and Senator Rubina Khalid attended, while Senator Shahadat Awan participated as the mover of the agenda item.
The committee expressed serious displeasure over the absence of senior CDA officers and instructed a letter to be sent to the Ministry of Interior conveying their concern. The Chairman emphasized that parliamentary committees should not be undermined and directed relevant institutions to ensure the presence of senior officials in committee meetings.
Senator Shahadat Awan, in his briefing on the legal framework, highlighted concerns about Ranikot Fort, which is on UNESCO’s Tentative List, stating that it had been neglected by the Federal Government. He also noted the lack of an effective coordination mechanism between the Ministry of National Heritage and Culture and the Government of Sindh regarding the Great Wall of Sindh, known as the Wall of Asia.
The Secretary of the Ministry of National Heritage and Culture informed the committee that Pakistani sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List are nominated following Federal Government recommendations. The Ministry has trained its officials in preparing nomination dossiers and has requested UNESCO to consider more than one dossier from Pakistan annually, despite the current limit of one dossier per country per year.
The committee was further apprised that the Ministry had recently submitted dossiers for intangible and cultural heritage to UNESCO, successfully securing the inscription of the traditional clay musical instrument “Borendo.” The Ministry reported regular coordination and cooperation with provincial governments for the protection and preservation of heritage and archaeological sites under the Antiquities Act.
The committee was informed that the Ministry is currently working to secure the inscription of Bhanbhore on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
