PESHAWAR: The first ever Museum of Hazara region – which will be open for general public soon – has been inaugurated by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Mahmood Khan in Abbottabad on Monday.
Hazara Museum’s building reflects the British era architecture of the historic Abbottabad city. Constructed at the cost of Rs 60 million, the rich and diverse cultural heritage of Hazara division will be put on display at the museum, said the officials of KP Directorate of Archaeology and Museums (DOAM).
Speaker KP Assembly Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani, Member National Assembly (MNA) Ali Khan Jadoon and Director Archaeology and Museums Dr Abdul Samad were also present during the inauguration ceremony. Dr Samad briefed the chief minister and other dignitaries about the museum and its importance for Hazara region.
The museum is designed by the KP Archaeology and Museums department with the financial support of KITE [Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Integrated Tourism Development Project] project. The KITE project is sponsored by the World Bank (WB) with the aim “to develop new tourist attractions and revitalize cultural heritage sites in the province.” The officials said that World Bank will provide 70 million US dollars for the KITE project.
The building will also be used as a sub-regional office of the KP directorate of archaeology in Hazara division, said the officials. The officials furthered that International consultant was hired to ensure a state-of-the-art museum. The archaeology department officials said that the museum has been designed as per international standards and will be one of the main attractions for visitors in this region.
Hazara was part of Gandhara civilization and home to Bhamala – one of the important Buddhist site – located near Khanpur dam. This archaeological site consists of a marvelous stupa, date back to the 2nd century CE, which has been excavated and antiques recovered were placed in Taxila museum. After the construction of Abbotabad museum, the antiques recovered from Hazara region will be placed at the museum.
