Sindh Secretary for Culture Abdul Aziz Uqaili, while unveiling the report of survey team of his department has termed the construction inside Makli graveyard as illegal and recommended the district administration to take strict action with immediate effect against land grabbers including removal of encroachments from the graveyard.
Talking to media persons here the other day, the secretary said that he also directed the administration to undertake precautionary measures so that illegal encroachment activities could not be repeated in future.
He said that it was only the Culture Department which has taken notice of illegal construction in the Makli graveyard before any one else and constituted and dispatched a committee of experts headed by Qasim Ali Qasim to inquire into the matter and recommend a future strategy for the protection of archaeological heritage and Makli graveyard in District Thatta.
He said that the survey report of the committee showed that though the area of Makhdoom Hashim Thattvi Graveyard does not fall into category of protected heritage, however the team recommended its protection and confiscated valuable stone and documented the visual record of broken graves at the site.
He said that the committee also recommended strict action against the land grabbers and criminals. Subsequently the department under the directives of former Sindh Minister for Culture Sassui Palejo has asked the district administration for removing encroachment of all kinds from the graveyard with immediate effect.