PESHAWAR
Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Minorities Affairs Wazirzada has said that establishment of Kalash Valleys Development Authority (KVDA) would help preserve the indigenous Kalash culture and promote tourism in the scenic valleys.
“The Kalash Valleys Development Authority has been established and now the time has come to work devotedly to achieve the desired results,” he told a meeting of the authority here.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Culture and Tourism Authority (KPCTA) Director General Muhammad Abid Khan Wazir, Director Archaeology Dr. Abdul Samad, Lower Chitral Deputy Commissioner Anwarul Haq, National Tourism Coordination Board Member Shahzada Maqsoodul Mulk and others attended the meeting.
The CM aide assured the participants that the government would provide all possible resources to make the authority functional and implement its agenda. Deputy Commissioner Anwarul Haq briefed the participants about the agenda of the KVDA, appointment of chairman and staff for the authority, designing of monogram and the purposes of the new entity and its future line of actions.
Shahzada Maqsood Ul Mulk was elected as Chairman of KVDA. Speaking on the occasion, KPCTA DG Abid Khan Wazir said that the establishment of KVDA was a good omen for the local people and indigenous culture, which will now be protected and promoted at the global level.
He said that a minimum number of staff should be recruited to make the authority autonomous and cut the unnecessary expenditures. The Director General asked the chairman to implement the agenda of KVDA in letter and spirit to achieve the desired results.
Dr. Samad said that the Kalash culture was part of the UNESCO Heritage e Trail, therefore, Kalash culture, language and way of life of people should be protected at all costs. With a small population, the Kalash tribe is fast disappearing. Their culture has been recognized by the United Nations as an ‘intangible’ culture.
The authority will not allow the construction of new buildings in residential areas of the valley without approval while all development schemes for the ancient tribe will be monitored to ensure they do not damage their culture. Buildings which have already been constructed by the members of the Kalash tribe living in the area will not be demolished.
