By Emal Pashtunyar
Special to Korea Times
PESHAWAR, Pakistan ― A group of Korean Buddhists urged Pakistan to take measures to protect and restore Buddhist archeological sites in the historical Takht Bhai area here.
The call was made when a seven-member delegation of Korean Buddhists Sunday visited historical sites in Pakistan's North Western Frontier Province (NWFP).
Senior monk Woon Deok led the delegation.
Takht Bhai is the oldest historical site in North Western Pakistan which dates back to the first century B.C. The site was declared a UNESCO heritage in 1980.
The area is located some 15 kilometers from Mardan, the second biggest city of Pakistan's North-Western province and is frequented by monks and Budhists due to remnants of a centuries old civilization, also called Gandhara Civilization.
The name Takht Bhai is an Urdu word where Takht is throne and Bahi, water. The archeological site, a complex used by monarchs, is built on top of a hill with a stream nearby.
The Korean delegation took a keen interest in the old sites. The delegation remained there for more than two hours and were briefed by Pakistani officials about the history, geography, population, weather and other aspects of the area.
The delegation also visited the historic Mahabat Khan Mosque in Peshawar, the central capital of NWFP joining border with the neighboring Afghanistan. Pakistani officials said the visit to the 16th century Mahabat Khan Mosque was part of efforts to promote interfaith harmony.
The delegation led by Woon Deok met the prayer leader in charge of the mosque Maulana Yousuf Qureshi. Later, the two leaders addressed a joint press conference in which they stressed the need for tolerance and interfaith harmony among people belonging to different religions and different civilizations.
On this occasion, Woon Deok said the Korean and Japanese governments would finance a university in NWFP to protect the historic sites in the province. He noted that the Korean Buddhists have a deep reverence for Pakistan.
Located in close proximity with Afghanistan, where Taliban militants are posing a challenge, Pakistan's NWFP province is also facing the threat of Talibanization.
The militants and radicals consider the archeological sites as anti Islam. Last year the militants destroyed some small Buddha statues in Pakistan's tourist resort of Swat following which the government of that country launched a massive military operation against them.
Two giant Buddha statues were blown up by the Taliban while they were in power in Afghanistan in late 2001. The Taliban action drew widespread condemnation from the Muslim community as well as the rest of the world.
This is the only Mughal era mosque in Peshawar that survived the wars between Pashtuns and Sikhs, and British and Pashtuns. The mosque was constructed by a governor named Mahabat Khan in 1670s when Emperor Shah Jehan ruled India.
One prominent aspect of the mosque is that the Sikh rulers of Peshawar used its minarets for hanging insurgents.