Ramesh Vankwani rebuts propaganda against Gandhara Corridor
Ramesh Vankwani rebuts propaganda against Gandhara Corridor
ISLAMABAD (June 5, 2024): Patron-in-chief of Pakistan Hindu Council, Dr. Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, accused that some conspiratorial elements of the Department of Archeology & Museums, who faced the courts in the past for alleged involvement in misuse of authority, nepotism, irregularities and misconduct, are apparently behind the baseless and misleading propaganda against the Gandhara Corridor for the sake of fulfilling their own personal vested interests.
Dr. Ramesh Kumar, former head of the Prime Minister’s Task Force on Gandhara Tourism, while rebutting a recently-published news story in a English daily, termed the opinion of an anonymous and unknown official of the tourism department, as completely contrary to the facts and against the rules & regulations.
According to Dr. Ramesh Vankwani, criticizing the decision of the Prime Minister of Pakistan by a public servant is a serious violation of the Government Service Rules, on which top authorities must take strict action.
Dr. Ramesh Vankwani emphasized that the main objective of the Gandhara Task Force was to promote the Gandhara civilization with the cooperation of the federal and provincial governments. The honorable members of the Gandhara Task Force included the Secretary Sports, Culture, Tourism, Archeology and Youth Affairs of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. “Special thanks to the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the security agencies for ensuring excellent arrangements for the visits to the archaeological sites of Gandhara civilization across the province under the auspices of the Task Force,” Dr. Ramesh stated.
Dr. Ramesh vehemently refuted the allegations levelled by the anonymous officials of the Department of Culture and Tourism that the federal government wants to take over the Gandhara archeological sites in the province under the guise of the Gandhara Corridor. “Under the 18th Amendment, I fully respect the provincial autonomy and don’t want to interfere in the affairs of the provinces in any way,” he assured, emphasizing that: “The purpose of the Gandhara Corridor is to connect the federal capital Islamabad with the capitals of Buddhist-majority countries.”
Dr. Ramesh Kumar further said that the unknown KPK official has tried to give an impression by referring to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Antiquities Act 2016 malafidely that the Gandhara Corridor Bill is in conflict with the provincial laws, whereas the Gandhara Corridor is in fact a unique type of legislation to facilitate international pilgrims and foreign tourists with the cooperation of provincial governments.
Dr. Ramesh Vankwani further said that he has already offered in his letter to the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that if any objectionable clause is identified in the Gandhara Corridor Bill, then it could be amended in the national interest.
In an English daily report, an unidentified official of the provincial tourism department accused the federal government of trying to take over the remains of Gandhara and said that the federal government had never allocated funds for the promotion and preservation of these sites. However, Dr. Ramesh Vankwani emphasized that conspirators against Gandhara Corridor must be discouraged at any cost.
