Islamabad:
The Gandhara Cultural Festival gave life to the ancient heritage of Pakistan, celebrating the heritage of Gandhara’s civilization while promoting ecotourism.
The festival presented a large exhibition of artifacts from Gandhara, including sculptures, coins, pottery, paintings and photography exhibitions. Visitors explored the artistic and historical meaning of the rich heritage of Gandhara, by granting an overview of its cultural and historical impact.
The event, followed by the great launch of the project “promoting the civilization and heritage of Gandhara for ecotourism”, marked an important step in the preservation of historic treasures of Pakistan and the stimulation of tourism.
One of the main attractions was a Hindu community corner, where visitors were captivated by devotional Bhajans with traditional musical instruments, symbolizing interconfessional harmony.
The event was organized by Kurrum Welfare Houses and Pakistan Poverty Retreviation Fund (PPAF), in collaboration with Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA), Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC), the Prime Minister’s youth program (PMYP) and PNCA on Wednesday. The parliamentary secretary, Farah Naz Akbar inaugurated the festival, congratulating the initiative for its role in the promotion of cultural tourism and unity among various communities.
“It is encouraging to see that the stands of seven different cultural communities are part of this festival, presenting a rich and diversified heritage of Pakistan,” she said. She also underlined the government’s “Uraan Pakistan” initiative under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, which aims to stimulate national progress through cultural and economic growth.
The CEO of PPAF, Nadir Gul, underlined the organization’s commitment to poverty reduction in 150 districts, offering subsistence opportunities to people from all walks of life. He highlighted PPAF initiatives in Chitral and Balutchistan, focusing on education, health and cultural preservation.
The Director General of the PTDC, Rana Aftab, stressed the global importance of Gandhara’s heritage in Peshawar, Swat and Taxila Valley. He noted that more than 500 million Buddhists in the world considered this sacred region, which makes it a primordial destination for religious tourism.
