A Contribution to Wazir Khan Documentation 2017 for Aga Khan Trust for Culture, Pakistan
Introduction
The Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) is the cultural agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). It promotes debate and exemplars in the contemporary built environment, engages in the physical, social, economic and cultural revitalisation of communities in the Muslim world, and through education and cultural initiatives, aims to foster openness and understanding of the plurality of peoples and cultures.
The Trust seeks to leverage the unique transformative power of culture to improve socio-economic conditions prevailing in many Muslim populations – often communities that have a rich cultural heritage but live in poverty. These societies are experiencing dramatic periods of transition, processes of change and homogenising forces of popular culture. The Trust’s model shows that cultural assets can be catalysts for economic development, spearheading the revitalisation of communities – raising incomes, restoring pride, improving the quality of life and, perhaps most importantly, providing hope.
Programmes are constantly refined with a focus on education, sustainability and, where appropriate, replication. AKTC’s experience with development is intended to be shared through joint ventures and public-private partnerships as well as engaging with scholars, urban planners, government departments, development organisations and international and academic institutions.
As it enters its third decade of dedication to cultural development work in Pakistan, the mission of the Trust has taken on renewed and heightened importance against the backdrop of the challenges that the country is facing, thereby emphasizing the importance of arts and culture in promoting understanding and collaboration among people inside and outside Pakistan, and thus, contributing to peace and security.
Gilgit-Baltistan
AKTC became active in northern Pakistan in 1989, in response to concerns that the unique culture of the area was under threat due to developments that followed the completion of the Karakoram Highway in 1978. Increased accessibility to hitherto remote valleys of Gilgit-Baltistan, which were part of the old Central Asian Silk Route but which had remained inaccessible to vehicular traffic, coupled with the impact of tourism, introduced a rapid transformation of local customs and economic patterns, which called for new strategic development visions and adapted procedures capable of steering ongoing rapid change.
The conservation of the Baltit Fort, the earliest elements of which date back more than 700 years, and the stabilisation of the historic core of the village of Karimabad in the Hunza Valley were the Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme’s (AKHCP) first major interventions, completed in 1996. It was clear from this experience that meaningful restoration works needed to be associated with the ongoing rehabilitation of traditional settlements as well as the promotion of building techniques. Through Aga Khan Cultural Service-Pakistan (AKCSP), AKTC’s country affiliate, projects in Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have included the restoration of several other historic forts and former palaces as well as culturally relevant buildings and sites. The forts in Baltit and Altit in Hunza are local history museums and cultural centres while Shigar Fort and Khaplu Palace Residence in Baltistan both serve as hotels generating employment for the local communities. The Trust’s recent projects include the structural consolidation and rehabilitation of the 90-year-old Vazir House in Swat, which has been converted into a heritage guesthouse. In Altit, the Leif Larsen Music Center has been established to facilitate local musicians and to document the musical traditions of Hunza and neighbouring valleys. This initiative is part of a broader goal to promote the region’s intangible heritage - languages, folklore, music, arts and crafts, traditional performances and sports.
The impact of the conservation of landmark monuments has since fostered an awareness of traditional construction techniques, use of sustainable greenwood like poplar or walnut, and revived traditional crafts such as carpentry and wood carving. In 2009 AKCSP helped the community design and construct the Shigar Abruzzi School, the first purpose-built structure using traditional materials of timber and stone, and the first co-educational private school in the valley. A similar community-built project was the new Jamia Masjid Shigar, also built in a traditional style, instead of the originally proposed concrete structure.
The villages and neighbourhoods around the forts, which were in danger of being deserted in favour of dispersed modern construction in the fields, are now being rehabilitated through active efforts of residents - a new trend which not only boosts cultural pride, but also helps reduce costs for road construction and infrastructure provision and saves the precious agricultural terraces from uncontrolled construction. Preserving indigenous values and at the same time introducing contemporary living standards (including sanitation) has been the key to the ongoing cultural development process, which is undertaken with the active involvement of the local communities. Furthermore, social enterprises are being facilitated in raising awareness about the use of traditional building practices and in promoting the use of greenwood, such as poplar, for construction. Collaboration with regional institutions such as the Karakoram International University and the Government of Gilgit-Baltistan is also taking place through the provision of technical advisory services related to rural and urban built environments in the region.
As a means to address rural poverty and to encourage the participation of women in local economic activities, a pilot initiative was introduced in Gilgit-Baltistan in 2003 to provide women from poor households access to skill and income generating opportunities through participation in ongoing restoration projects. Since then, Ciqam - a women’s social enterprise, has evolved into an effective vehicle to engage women in non-traditional skills such as topographic and building surveys, carpentry, design and drafting, masonry, electrification, plumbing and hospitality. More than 170 young women from Hunza and Chitral have been trained. In December 2015, the Embassy of France sponsored a delegation from Ciqam to participate in the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris. Widespread awareness of Ciqam in Pakistani cinema and social media has opened up further avenues of exposure and training; 25 women are currently refining their design and carpentry skills with Mohkam – a leading furniture manufacturer in Lahore.
Strategic planning principles to both protect and take advantage of existing environmental and cultural assets in the light of growing tourism are now being implemented through a comprehensive tourism management plan. Partnerships with the Government of Gilgit-Baltistan as well as law enforcement agencies, hoteliers, local municipalities and other AKDN agencies have been strengthened to ensure that the negative effects of tourism are mitigated in a collective and holistic manner.
The various projects in Gilgit-Baltistan have won a number of prestigious prizes including the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation (every year between 2002 and 2014), Time Magazine Asia: Best of Asia Award, British Airways Tourism for Tomorrow Award and Virgin Responsible Tourism.
Silk Route
The efforts in northern Pakistan are part of a broader vision towards the development of a number of interlinked projects in the part of Central Asia where Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and China meet. Beyond the rehabilitation and conservation of monuments, this vision encompasses itineraries along different branches of the old Silk Route that will allow visitors to enjoy the historic built environment, to experience the exceptional natural beauty of the area and to learn about the region’s living cultures. The Silk Route initiative would help people from across the region to connect by celebrating local cultural traditions and values. By preserving the natural and physical environment and by highlighting authenticity, the Trust aims to attract visitors in manageable numbers. The role of these visitors is not only to help strengthen and sustain the local economy, but also to help safeguard the region’s unique cultures.
Project Partners
A majority of the projects in Gilgit-Baltistan have been the beneficiaries of generous funding and ongoing support from the Government of Norway. The governments of France, Italy, Switzerland, Japan and Germany have also supported various initiatives in the region. Collaboration with the Government of Gilgit-Baltistan has been strengthened with a series of MOUs, which ensures AKCSP’s technical input in future matters of policy and project implementation in responsible tourism management and conservation. AKCSP has also partnered up with a number of AKDN agencies like the Aga Khan Foundation, Tourism Promotion Service, Aga Khan Rural Support Programme and the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat on projects that overlap with their remit of responsibilities, specifically tourism, community development and local construction.
Future Possibilities
AKTC is currently exploring projects such as Gupis Fort as part of the historic Silk Route circuit. This would require funding of US$ 2.8 million to restore the fort and convert it into a guesthouse.
Lahore
Upon the completion of the Shigar Fort project in 2005, the Government of Pakistan requested AKTC to make technical contributions to a World Bank funded area development “pilot” Shahi Guzargah project in the Walled City of Lahore. The work consequently carried out was initiated under a public-private partnership framework agreement which was signed in 2007 with the Government of Punjab. This came to an end in 2012 and technical engagement of the Trust continues on the basis of a MOU. The first phase of the project, completed in 2014, comprised of the design and improvement of infrastructure services and the documentation of major Mughal period monuments. An important social and economic dimension aimed at poverty alleviation and the creation of economic opportunities for local residents was facilitated through participation in the projects.
Between 2007 and 2009, AKTC carried out extensive physical and socio-economic baseline surveys across the Walled City. Technical and financial assistance was also provided for a pilot neighbourhood rehabilitation project, which was carried out in Gali Surjan Singh, a residential street off Delhi Gate Bazaar. This has been subsumed in a broader framework of integrated area development across the Walled City and is contained in a Strategic Plan developed in 2008. A GIS database has also been developed that contains parcel level data for 21,800 properties and highlights existing landuse. Under AKTC aegis, a medium term infrastructure development plan was also prepared for the Walled City, integrating the design of different utility services into a phased programme spread over 15 years. Additionally, over two years beginning in 2010, an integrated project at the micro scale, partly supported by the German Foreign Ministry for the conservation of 12 historic homes in Gali Surjan Singh, was completed to demonstrate rehabilitation at the fine grain of the urban fabric. This effort established design paradigms for both infrastructure and architecture that the Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) is replicating in the rest of the project area.
In June 2015, the conservation of the 17th century Mughal period Shahi Hammam - a public bathhouse in Delhi Gate, was completed. The 1,000 square meter complex was rehabilitated over two years and interventions included the exposure, conservation and display of the original waterworks, drainage and heating networks as well as the historic floor level, restoration of the original entrance, internal chambers and architectural features including provisions for internal and external illumination. The original frescoes dating from the Mughal period were also conserved. In 2016, the Shahi Hammam was the recipient of the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award of Merit for Cultural Heritage Conservation. WCLA currently manages the hammam as a museum.
In 2009, a comprehensive documentation of the Wazir Khan Mosque was carried out and published in 2012 by AKCSP to determine the range of problems and issues faced by the mosque. This was followed by the conservation of the 85-meter long north façade of the mosque in 2016 with a Norwegian grant, which included the reclamation of the original street level and rehabilitation of traditional shops lining the façade. Rehabilitation of the Chowk Wazir Khan, the 800 square meter historical forecourt to the mosque, was initiated in the last quarter of 2015 with co-funding from the US Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation, and is expected to be completed by March 2017.
In September 2015, AKCSP began the documentation of the Lahore Fort Picture Wall - a 442 meter mural that spans the northern and western façades of the Fort, and the principle reason for the site’s inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1981. Supported by a Norwegian grant, this project paved the way for the complete digital documentation of the Fort, as well as a prototype project to determine a way forward for the conservation of the Picture Wall. Both projects are engaging international expertise and building local conservation capacity, and are expected to be completed in 2017.
AKTC is also providing assistance to the Punjab Government in the preparation of a Master Conservation and Re-Development Plan for the Walled City of Lahore. This plan, mandated by the Walled City of Lahore Act, 2012, emphasizes the protection and conservation of Lahore’s prized historic core and the maintenance of a substantial residential population within the old city by improving the quality of life. The plan interprets the many provisions of the Act such as the inventorying of heritage properties and the identification of zones of special value and provides guidelines for regulating land use.
In areas where the Trust has concentrated its efforts, the expected impact will be noticeable with regard to the number of rehabilitated historic structures, improved housing conditions and urban services for local residents as well as better access for visitors to landmark monuments and sites.
The pilot neighbourhood rehabilitation project has set a high standard for quality in urban service provision. WCLA is replicating this effort on a larger scale in those areas of the Walled City for which project packages have been designed.
The removal of makeshift retail outlets that for decades have obscured important historic monuments along major arteries within the Walled City, as well as the rehabilitation of these monuments, is already having substantial visual and psychological impact – leading to an increase in the number of visitors to the area.
Project Partners
Growing awareness about the Walled City’s historic and socio-cultural importance among prominent businessmen, political leaders and the higher educated, as well as their acknowledgment of the high standards of AKTC’s conservation and rehabilitation efforts, has led to a number of key partnerships that include the Government of Punjab, the Walled City of Lahore Authority, the Royal Norwegian Embassy, the United States Embassy, the Embassy of Germany as well as the World Bank.
In addition to the ongoing initiatives, AKTC is working in continued partnership with the Government of Punjab on the following projects:
Wazir Khan Mosque: Remaining elements of the full package.
Lahore Fort Shah Burj: Restoration of the Picture Wall and the Summer Palace Museum. This will be carried out in continued partnership with the Royal Norwegian Embassy.
Future Possibilities
AKTC has explored the possibility of working on projects in other cities in Pakistan that are rich in heritage and Islamic history, as well as exploring other options within the Walled City of Lahore. If there would be donor interest in supporting these possibilities, AKTC would certainly be willing to engage with partners to find suitable projects that fit its portfolio, mandate and expertise.
This brief indicates the scale of potential project sites that may be considered should the necessary funding be identified. While AKTC has been able to proceed with certain projects on a phase by phase basis, and has attracted some co-funding, it is clear that the scope of these important projects will call for a wider and deeper level of private sector and public sector participation.