Daily Times

Peshawar has been remained a strategic city where invaders constructed worship places to freely perform religious obligations and use its peoples’ strong bonds with religion in their favor to prolong their rule.

Being a gateway to the subcontinent and central Asian states (CARs), Peshawar was always a strategic city where kings, warriors and invaders constructed mosques, churches and gurdwaras at prime locations to worship in accordance with their faith besides molding public opinions after conquering it before extending their influence to the subcontinent.

The Muslims commanders and kings of different dynasties passed through the historic Khyber Pass from Central Asian Republics (CARs), Afghanistan stayed first at Peshawar where they constructed scores of mosques and worship places for Muslims and minorities to promote interfaith harmony and bring people of all faith closer. “From recent GorKathri excavations, it was made clear that Islam had first spread in the border areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Afghanistan after Sabuktigin, a Turkic slave commander laid the foundation of the Ghaznavi dynasty at Ghazi in 977 AD in Central Afghanistan,” said Bakhtzada Muhammad, senior research officer of the archeology department KP while talking to APP.

Following an untimely death of Sabuktigin and a revolt against his son Ismail, Mehmud Ghaznvi had gained control over the Ghaznavi kingdom and extended his influence to Punjab after defeating Raja of Jaypala of the Kabul Shahis at the battle of Peshawar in 1001 AD,” he said.

Resultantly, Islam had gained roots in Bannu, Waziristan, Khyber and other border areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where construction of large and small mosques was started. “An inscription in Arabic engraved on a black marble was found in 1984 on the slopes of the hill below the castle of Raja Gira, which authenticated the foundation of the historic Odigram Mosque in Swat (also known as Sultan Mahmood Ghaznavi mosque constructed in 1048 CE on the order of General Amir Nustagin of Ghaznavi, which attracted worshipers in droves in Ramazan.