Zubair Qureshi
Caretaker Federal Minister for National Heritage & Culture Jamal Shah on Friday inaugurated the 3-day (Dec 1-3) photo exhibition titled “Uzbekistan and Pakistan Joint Cultural Heritage” at Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA).
The exhibition has been jointly organized by the Embassy of Uzbekistan, Baburi Forum and the PNCA. Ambassador of the Republic of Uzbekistan MrOybekArifUsmanov and Director General (DG) of PNCA Muhammad Ayoub received the Chief Guest upon arrival.
Ambassadors and diplomats of Turkiye, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus were also among those who attended the inaugural ceremony.
Addressing the opening ceremony, the caretaker minister for culture & national heritage said that Uzbekistan and Pakistan had strong, cultural, historical, religious, and friendly relations and there was a significant potential for further cooperation between the two countries.
The minister said that the culture of Uzbekistan had a rich history, which was inextricably linked by centuries-old traditions and lifestyle of the peoples of Central Asia.
“Located at the crossroads of the Silk Road, Uzbekistan has collected on its territory many architectural monuments, ancient fortresses and castles, mysterious and unique natural monuments and elements of folklore,” said Jamal Shah adding Pakistan was also blessed with many unique cultures and traditions, buildings, fortresses and domes having a rich history.
Jamal Shah said that promotion of national heritage and culture among the people could prevent the society from social ills such as hatred, intolerance and bring peace and stability.
Earlier, in his address, Ambassador OybekArifUsmanov of Uzbekistan said the photo exhibition served the purpose to highlight the cultural and architectural, historical and traditional similarities that exist between Uzbekistan and Pakistan. The exhibition he said was dedicated to the 31st anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Uzbekistan and Pakistan.
The relevant protocol on it was signed in the Ashkabad city, capital of Turkmenistan on May 10 1992. The copy of that document is also displayed in the exhibition, he further said. At the photo exhibition, one could find identical architectural patterns of the two countries’ domes and archs for instance of Tilya-Kori Madrasah Registan Square in Samarkand, Uzbekistan and UchShrif shrines (of BibiJawindi, Baha’al-Halim and JalaluddinBukhari) located some 80-km from the city of Bahawalpur in Southern Punjab, Pakistan. Similarly the visitors were struck with awe and were greatly inspired to see the photos depicting similarities in the construction of the historical buildings of both countries like Ark of Bukhara (Uzbekistan), Fort Abbas (Pakistan), Hazrati Imam Ensemble (Tashkent, Uzbekistan), Badshahi Masjid (Lahore, Pakistan). In short, buildings and domes of ancient times like Minaret of Ulugh Bek, Toki TelpakFurushon and many others seemed closer to the Pakistani historical buildings and one couldn’t help concluding both the countries had a shared cultural heritage.
The Uzbek ambassador paid rich compliments to two “prominent heads of Pakistan missions” who worked tirelessly for the active development of bilateral relations MrIrfan Yusuf Shami and Mr. Riaz Ahmad Bukhari.
