Indian team visits Taxila Museum

The Taxila Museum - Photo courtesy of Danial Shah

from DAWN.com (Pakistan)
Amjad Iqbal | Metropolitan > Islamabad

TAXILA: After taking various initiatives to normalise relations between India and Pakistan, now parliamentary diplomacy is being pursued to bridge gaps for greater benefit of the two peoples.

Speaker Lok Sabha Meira Kumar said this while talking to newsmen at Buddhist ancient site of Dharmarajika stupa and monastery on Thursday.

She along with six-member Indian parliamentary delegation including Shahnawaz Hussain, BP Bashiya, Indar Singh, Madan Lal, Tarun Vijhay and Syed Saidul Haq visited ancient Buddhist site and Taxila Museum in the sideline of her official visit to Pakistan.

Meira Kumar said: “I am much pleased to visit the place from where once great Buddhist civilization flourished and today we once again want to spread the message of peace and equality once promoted from here centuries back.

While speaking on the occasion, Indian MP Syed Saidul Haq emphasised the need for normalising Pakistan-India relations for greater benefit of people of the two neighbours. He said the talks between India and Pakistan entered the second phase and hoped all the problems would be resolved through dialogue.

Talking to newsmen Indian MP and spokesman for Bharatyia Janata Party (BJP) Tarun Vijhay said what he saw in Taxila was different from the perception of Pakistan as an extremists and religiously-rigid nation. He said that he was much inspired to see rich cultural heritage of Pakistan and the tremendous way it was preserved. He said he would present this soft image of Pakistan in Indian newspapers. He lauded the Pakistan government for preserving sites related to Buddhism.

Earlier, on arrival, the Indian delegates were received by Director General Federal Department of Archaeology Dr Fazal Dad Kakar, Deputy Director Punjab Department of Archaeology Arshad Khan and other officials.

On the occasion, Curator Taxila Museum Nasir Khan briefed the delegation about the history and significance of the ancient Taxila civilization and artifacts on display at the museum.

The delegation took a round of the museum and visited various galleries comprising sculptures, stucco relieves, stones, plaster and terra-cotta figures, glass tiles and objects as toilet articles, seats, beads, bark manuscripts, silver utensils, carpentry tools, surgical instruments and hundreds of coins and jewellery items of the ancient Gandhara civilization.

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