The Punjab government is planning to set up museums in each district, which would work as knowledge houses to disseminate awareness to people of all ages about the heritage and civilisation of the province. This was disclosed at the second 2-day national conference held under the aegis of Museums Association of Pakistan (MAP) at the Expo Centre Lahore on Saturday and Sunday The project has already been successfully implemented in Khyber Pakhtunkhawa (KPK).
Curators and directors of different museums from across Pakistan participated in the conference which was in line with the agenda of the Association to work for defining the future role of museums in Pakistan, developing a possible road map for promoting and strengthening museology and museography in Pakistan.
Spokesman of the Museums Association of Pakistan Mohsin Abbas told Business Recorder that the experts of the conference discussed development of museums and musicology after devolution under 18th amendment in KPK, present state of museums in Sindh and Punjab and social status of museums, their role and importance in society.
They stressed the need for promoting the culture and the history of the region. Secretary General of the Museums Association of Pakistan (MAP) Mian Attique Ahmad besides throwing light on the efforts of revamping museums across the country said that it had chalked out a five year plan to promote museums and museology in the country.
MAP President Abdul Waheed said it was unfortunate that most people's knowledge of the country's history went either as far back as Arab general Muhammad bin Qasim's arrival in the region or the partition of India in 1947. He urged the people to study the region's history and to be proud of its roots in the Indus Valley Civilization.
Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) Director General Kamran Lashari who was the chief guest at the opening ceremony remarked that the poor condition of most museums was due to a lack of commitment at the social and political level. He urged the museum administrations to promote the lives and works of artists among other local celebrities.
Those who spoke during two-day conference included Dr Sumaira Samad who talked about history of Lahore Museum and recent developments, Mohammad Afzal Khan threw light on museums under the archaeology department of Punjab, Masih Ulah Bucha on development of museums in KPK under 18th amendment, Ms. Naheed about present states of museums in Sindh, Dr Asma presented a case study on developing specialised museums in Pakistan and many others.