Peshawar: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Directorate of Archaeology has requested the Mines and Minerals Department to disallow mining activities at the province’s archaeological sites, according to a news source published today (September 16). Further, it has implored the government to declare 84 archaeological sites in the region to be ‘lease-free’ – under the KP Antiquities Act, 2016.
The directorate communicated the coordinates and details of these sites to the department through a letter which listed the immovable antiquities, assets, and monuments needed to be protected. This was in response to an incident where a mining license was issued for an archaeological site. KP Chief Secretary Kazim Niaz called a meeting on September 14, where the relevant department was urged to bar mining activities at such sites.
The official also revealed that in light of these directives, the District Administration of Mardan had imposed Section 144 on all mining activities in the Tahrelli archaeological site. In this regard, the deputy commissioner released a notice saying that anyone found violating Section 144 (imposed for two months) would be charged under Section 188 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
