Daily Times

LAHORE: The tomb of Nawab Nusrat Khan also known as Khawaja Sabir is in ruins and may collapse anytime soon due to the “neglect” of the Pakistan Railways and the Punjab Archaeology Department, Daily Times has learnt through reliable sources.

The tomb is located in the carriage and wagon workshop of the Pakistan Railways near Mughalpura and so far no restoration and upkeep of the site has been done by the Archaeology Department despite declaring it a protected monument, sources added.

They said that the monument had been partially converted into a mosque by the staff of Pakistan Railways. Moreover, the monument is closed for the public as no one is allowed to visit the site due to “security reasons”.

Sources allege that the railways inspector deputed at Railway Carriage denies the existence of a monument there.

“Also there is a wild plantation around the monument and continuous water ingress into the structure can damage its foundations. The ceilings and other embellishments have already collapsed,” sources added with distress.

The interior of the building, which was decorated with colourful paintings, is now painted with the colours of the Pakistan Railways, whereas the structure of the main dome and its pinnacle are presenting a gloomy look.

“Some of the arched entrances have been closed with metal posts, damaging the original fabric and structure of the monument,” sources maintained.

According to reports, the tomb was constructed by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in the memory of Nawab Nusrat Khan after his death in 1659 in Lahore.

Giving a brief history about the monument, Tania Qureshi, a writer on heritage, said that the tomb was built using small bricks depicting the Mughal era construction. “It is an octagonal mausoleum standing in the centre of an octagonal platform, which is damaged now. The tomb was damaged during the reign of Ranjit Singh and the marble embellishments were stolen. The tomb was also used as a private residence by General Court, a member of Ranjit Singh’s army, and few rooms were added, which were destroyed in 1890s. During the British rule, the place was converted into a hall room for military officers,” she added.

Salima Hashmi, a painter and historian, said that the Archaeology Department should conserve the monument using expertise of conservationists.

When contacted, Malik Maqsood, deputy director archaeology, said, “We have written to the Pakistan Railways for its conservation and restoration. We have constituted a committee, which is presently working on the proposal. We had also requested the Pakistan Railways that in case they wanted to own the monument and restore it then the Archaeology Department would happily extend its technical assistance to them. We are devising plans for the restoration of the tomb and other monuments as well falling in the same area.”

Pakistan Railways Director General Public Relations Najam Wali Khan said that a separate Directorate of Heritage was established in Pakistan Railways by the previous government and the directorate was working to preserve the heritage sites of Pakistan Railways.

“If this monument falls in the jurisdiction of the Pakistan Railways then the Directorate of Heritage will surely look into its restoration and our heritage is important to us,” Najam said.

Published in Daily Times, June 9^th 2018.