Latest news with #Peshawar
Arab News
5 days ago
- Arab News
Gor Khatri archaeological site in Peshawar tells a 2,000-year story of empire and faith
PESHAWAR, Pakistan: In the heart of the ancient walled city of Peshawar, perched on one of its highest elevations, stands a site layered with millennia of history. Gor Khatri, literally, 'Warrior's Grave,' is a sprawling archaeological complex where 13 successive civilizations have left their mark, from the Indo-Greeks of the second century BC to the British Raj. Located at a strategic point in what is now northwestern Pakistan, the complex was once a major caravanserai on the trade routes linking Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent. Today, it remains one of the oldest continuously inhabited urban settlements in South Asia — a rare living museum. Peshawar's strategic geography has long made it a magnet for conquest, trade and religion. Nestled at the mouth of the Khyber Pass — the historic invasion route into the subcontinent — the city has served as a crossroads between Central and South Asia for over two millennia. Greek settlers, Buddhist monks, Persian merchants, Mughal princesses and British generals have all passed through this terrain, leaving behind a mosaic of cultural and architectural legacies. 'Peshawar is one of the oldest living cities of South Asia,' said Dr. Numan Anwar, field supervisor at Gor Khatri for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Directorate of Archaeology and Museums. 'The site has the footprints of 13 civilizations.' The current 160-by-160-foot square structure dates to 1641, when it was commissioned by Mughal princess Jahan Ara, daughter of Emperor Shah Jahan, and named Sarai Jahanabad. Built as a caravan rest stop, the complex included cells, chambers and grand gateways, many of which still survive. 'When Jahan Ara Begum came to that [caravan resting] spot and saw people from many regions gathering here, she had the present building constructed,' said Dr. Zakirullah Jan, associate professor at the University of Peshawar's Department of Archaeology. 'The cells, rooms, gateways, all were constructed during the Mughal period.' 'BUDDHA'S BOWL' The site's significance reaches far deeper than the Mughal era. Gor Khatri has yielded the earliest archaeological material ever found in Peshawar, dating back to the Indo-Greek period, roughly the second or third century BC. 'The earliest level that has been discovered related to the history and archaeology of Peshawar came from the site of Gor Khatri,' Dr. Jan said. 'When Alexander came, and when the Indo-Greeks came, the Mauryans came, it touches that time.' Excavations began in earnest in 1992 through a joint initiative by the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums and the University of Peshawar. Archaeologists have since unearthed layers revealing Roman coins, Kushan pottery, Scythian jewelry and even traces from the White Huns and the Ghaznavid Empire. Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang, the 7th-century Buddhist monk who translated sacred texts from Sanskrit to Chinese, is believed to have visited the site. In his writings, he is known to have described a location where 'Buddha's giant bowl was kept,' which many historians believe refers to Gor Khatri. The bowl, some researchers say, was historically kept in Peshawar and Kandahar before being moved to the Kabul Museum. Today, a small museum inside Gor Khatri showcases pottery shards, coins, beads, seals and kitchen tools from the many civilizations that passed through. The complex also houses a mosque and the Goraknath Temple, a Hindu shrine built between 1834 and 1849, which now coexists in the same space — a testament to religious diversity. 'There is not a single break in the cultural history of this region,' said Dr. Jan. 'Since the second century BC till now, there is a continuity of culture. That's why the site is important.' The British-era governor's residence still stands at one corner of the site. Paolo Crescenzo Martino Avitabile, an Italian general in the army of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, once ruled Peshawar from this post between 1838 and 1842. Locally remembered as Abu Tabela, his tenure is part of the site's colonial legacy. On a typical day, students and families explore the site's pathways and peek into excavated trenches, standing on layers of millennia-old soil. 'Whenever my friends come from cities like Mardan, Swat, or Lahore, I take them here to show them the positive side of Peshawar,' said Hamza Khan, 21, a student of Peace and Conflict Studies. 'This place represents religious and cultural diversity.' The excavation work at Gor Khatri concluded in most parts in 2012, but archaeologists say there is still much to study. What remains today is not just an ancient structure, but a microcosm of Peshawar's civilizational depth — where Buddhist monks, Mughal princesses, British soldiers and local pilgrims have all, at some point, passed through.
Washington Post
7 days ago
- Climate
- Washington Post
Flash floods kill 3 tourists and leave 15 missing in northern Pakistan
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Flash floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains swept away several vehicles carrying tourists in northern Pakistan, killing at least three people and leaving 15 others missing, officials said on Tuesday. Pakistani rescue officials say the above-normal monsoon rains since June 26 have killed at least 225 people and injured more than 500 across the country. Experts say climate change is driving an increase in extreme weather events in the region.
Arab News
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistani militants use drones to target security forces, officials say
PESHAWAR: Militants in Pakistan have started using commercially acquired quadcopter drones to drop bombs on security forces in the country's northwest, police said, a potentially dangerous development in the volatile region. The use of such drones, which are powered by four rotors allowing for vertical take-off and landing, is worrying the overstretched and under-equipped police force, the frontline against militant attacks, officials said. Two quadcopters sent by the militants targeted a police station earlier this month, killing a woman and injuring three children in a nearby house in Bannu district, said police officer Muhammad Anwar. A drone spotted over another police station on Saturday was shot down with assault rifles, he said. It was armed with a mortar shell, he said. At least eight such drone attacks have targeted police and security forces in Bannu and adjacent areas in the last two and a half months, he said. Regional police chief Sajjad Khan said militants were still trying to master the use of the drones. 'The militants have acquired these modern tools, but they are in the process of experimentation and that's why they can't hit their targets accurately,' he added. The militants are using the quadcopters to drop improvised explosive devices or mortar shells on their targets, five security officials said. They said these explosive devices were packed with ball bearings or pieces of iron. Provincial police chief Zulfiqar Hameed said the police lacked resources to meet the new challenge. 'We do not have equipment to counter the drones,' he told the local Geo News channel on Sunday. 'The militants are better equipped than we are,' he said. No militant group has claimed responsibility for the drone strikes. The main militant group operating in the northwest is the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban. But they denied using the drones. 'We are trying to acquire this technology,' a TTP spokesman told Reuters. In 2024, militants carried out 335 countrywide attacks, killing 520 people, according to the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies, an independent organization. In recent weeks, thousands of residents from the border region have staged protests, aimed against both the attacks by militants and what they fear is an offensive planned by the army, according to a statement issued by the demonstrators. They said they feared that a military operation against the militants would displace them from their homes. A sweeping operation against militants in 2014 was preceded by a forced evacuation of hundreds of thousands of residents. They spent months, and in many cases years, away from their homes. Pakistan's army did not respond to a request for comment on whether an operation was planned.
Arab News
19-07-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistan mulls ADB role in CPEC's flagship Main Line‑1 railway upgrade
KARACHI: Pakistan is considering financial support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the long-delayed Main Line‑1 (ML‑1) railway upgrade — part of the China‑Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) — as an ADB fact-finding team inspected a section of the track on Saturday, according to an official statement. ML‑1, a $6.7 billion upgrade of Pakistan's 1,687-kilometer Karachi–Peshawar rail artery, is central to CPEC. The overhaul, involving track doubling, advanced signaling and higher-speed trains, is expected to boost cargo and passenger capacity while easing the transport of trade goods to and from the country's southern ports. 'Experts from the Asian Development Bank inspected the Karachi to Rohri railway line today,' Pakistan Railways said in a statement. 'The Bank's Chief Transport Planner, Sangyoon Kim, conducted the 480-kilometer track inspection alongside the chief engineer (open lines) of Pakistan Railways.' 'ADB's fact-finding specialists will prepare a report on the readiness of the Main Line-1 (ML-1) project, following which a final decision regarding the project's financing will be made,' the statement added. ML‑1 underpins Pakistan's main rail connectivity, carrying a major bulk of the country's cargo and passenger traffic. The project was approved by the Economic Coordination Committee in 2020 but has repeatedly stalled amid funding hitches. Speaking to Arab News, Babar Ali Raza, spokesperson at the railways ministry, said ADB was currently only preparing the feasibility. 'The main financier is China,' he continued. 'The team conducting the inspection is assessing its own feasibility to determine whether ADB can provide financing or not.' 'This would be ADB's own financing,' he added, 'however much they want to contribute.' Pakistan and China have described CPEC as a 'game-changer' for growth. The corridor comprises multibillion-dollar infrastructure initiatives covering roads, energy and rail. The two countries are also striving for regional connectivity, with Pakistan actively pursuing economic diplomacy in the neighborhood and offering its southern ports to landlocked Central Asian countries for global trade.
Arab News
17-07-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistani province completes first forest carbon mapping, targets $4 billion in credit revenue
PESHAWAR: Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government on Thursday announced it had completed its first forest carbon credit mapping, saying that projects on over two million hectares of land can be used to generate $4 billion in revenue and create over 50,000 jobs. Carbon credits are permits that allow owners— governments or companies— to emit a certain amount of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases (GHGs). The United Nations allows polluting companies or countries to buy carbon credits to offset their emissions. These credits can be sold in international carbon markets. Forest carbon credit mapping refers to the process of using satellite images, drones, and data to measure the forest land of a particular area. This estimates how much carbon the trees in that given area are absorbing. This data is then used to identify areas where projects can be launched to earn carbon credits. A ceremony was held at the Chief Minister's House in Peshawar to mark the launch of KP's first Forest Carbon Credit Mapping Report, the chief minister's office said in a statement. The report was launched by Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur. 'Through this mapping, done with the help of modern technology, ten potential projects covering 2.2 million hectares of forest land in the province have been identified,' the statement said. 'These projects can absorb more than 400 million tons of carbon,' the statement added. The report further said these projects can earn a revenue of $4 billion and create over 50,000 green jobs. Meanwhile, Gandapur said the mapping will serve as a 'comprehensive model' for the province's environmental, economic, and social development. 'The forest area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa makes up 46 percent of the country's total forested area,' Gandapur was quoted as saying in the statement. 'The forests of the province have the capacity to absorb 50 percent of the country's carbon.' The KP chief minister said the provincial government is expected to earn $100 million annually from carbon credits. He said the KP government is undertaking efforts to further increase the forest area of the province. Pakistan is consistently ranked as one of the world's worst-affected countries due to climate change. Monsoon rains in the country since June 26 alone have killed around 190 people and injured several others. Unusually heavy rains triggered flash floods in June 2022 that killed over 1,700 people and caused damages of over $33 billion, with large swathes of crops and critical infrastructure destroyed by raging currents.
