National Museum to be established in Capital
By Asim Hussain

ISLAMABAD—The National Museum is being established here in the premises of Shakarparian to reflect the country’s cultural identity.
The design for the museum has been approved recently through a competition organized to encourage architects by the Department of Archeology and Museums in collaboration with Pakistan Council of Architects and Town Planners (PCATP), said Minister for Culture, Sikander Hayat Jogezai here Thursday while talking to newsmen.
The new museum of the Federal Department of Archaeology will house cultural material of stone age, prehistory, Indus civilization, Gandhara civilization, Hindu Shahi, early Islamic and Mughal periods as well as history of freedom movement, arts and crafts and children section on the international standards set by International Council of Museums (ICOM).
Besides exhibition, the museum will provide educational services to educate the different masses whereas well equipped conservation laboratory for preservation of movable antiquities, modeling section, auditorium, library and other sections will also be established in the museum.
“Pakistan is one of the fortunate countries of the world which possesses the oldest socio-political background going back to the old stone age about 2.5 million years old,” he observed.
The archeological discoveries in Pakistan rank top most in the world with rich cultural heritage including arts and crafts.
The design of renowned architect, Yawar Abbas Jilani of ARCOP Pvt Limited Karachi has been selected for the museum while he was also awarded cash prize of Rs.150,000 for his design.
The minister further said that “Pakistan has a rich cultural heritage with great potentials for establishing a series of varied types of museums”.
Highlighting various aspects of the project, he said “Our culture from ancient civilizations continue to evolve and must be preserved and in this spirit ministry of culture is working to help nurture our sense of identity and pass it on to future generations”.