Search form

You are here

  • Home
  • Archaeologists discover huge ivory factory in Pakistan's ancient Bhanbhore city


Archaeologists discover huge ivory factory in Pakistan's ancient Bhanbhore city

Italian and Pakistan archaeologists visit ancient Bhanbhore city on February 8, 2020 (Photo Courtesy: Consulate general of Italy Karachi)
Short Url

https://arab.news/crh2h

Updated 20 February 2020
Follow

Archaeologists discover huge ivory factory in Pakistan's ancient Bhanbhore city

  • The ancient town was gateway for Arab conquerors in South Asia
  • Antiquities recovered from Bhanbhore include 6,675 ivories, Italian archaeologist Dr Simone Mantellini said
Updated 20 February 2020
Arab News Pakistan

KARACHI: Archaeologists from Italy and Pakistan believe that the discovery of a large elephant ivory stock in Bhanbhore seems to suggest that there was a big factory for the commodity in the area, officials said on Thursday.

An ancient city located about 65 kilometers east of Karachi, Bhanbhore provided a gateway to Arab conquerors who arrived in South Asia hundreds of years ago and dominated the region.




Italian and Pakistan archaeologists visit ancient Bhanbhore city on February 8, 2020 (Photo Courtesy: Consulate general of Italy Karachi)

“Technical experts of archaeology from Italy and Pakistan have come to the conclusion that Bhanbhore was a trade and industrial city where a big factory of elephant ivory existed,” Sindh’s Director Heritage Muhammad Shah Bukhari told Arab News on Thursday, adding that the findings were disclosed in a technical seminar in Karachi a day earlier.

Sharing the findings with the participants of the technical seminar on Wednesday, Italian archaeologist Dr. Simone Mantellini said that the antiquities recovered from Bhanbhore included 6,675 ivories, the largest such recovery anywhere in the world. “Nowhere else in the world have ivories been found in such a large quantity. Ivories were found in Iraq but those were small in number,” Mantellini said, adding that such a huge recovery proved there was a factory for the commodity in the city.




Italian and Pakistan archaeologists visit ancient Bhanbhore city on February 8, 2020 (Photo Courtesy: Consulate general of Italy Karachi)

The first excavation survey of Bhanbhore was carried out by Sindh’s Department of Archaeology and Museums in 1965. More recently, the government launched another round of exploration in 2012 in collaboration with Italian and French missions in Pakistan.

After each excavation, Bukhari added, a technical study was done by the Italian mission in collaboration with the Department of Culture, Tourism, Antiquities of the University of Khairpur, Sindh University, and Bahria University.


Bhanbhore and Arabs

Bhanbhore is said to have witnessed several political upheavals since its emergence in the first century BCE. Yet, the place was immortalized by an Arab general who changed the course of history by invading this town.

Long before the mighty Indus river meandered away from the settlement, forcing the residents of Bhanbhore to abandon their dwellings, Muhammad bin Qasim, an Umayyad warrior, defeated Sindh’s Brahmin ruler, Raja Dahar, in 711 CE and conquered large swathes of land. Today, Pakistan’s second busiest harbor, Port Qasim, is named after the Arab general.

“The south gate of Bhanbhore Fort from which Muhammad bin Qasim entered the citadel was later called the ‘gateway of Islam’ in South Asia,” Qazi Asif, a researcher, said.

Although a French archaeologist, Monique Kervran, says her findings of Bhanbhore confirm that Debal – ruled by Raja Dahar – and Bhanbhore are names of the same place, Dr. Asma Ibrahim, a Pakistani archaeologist, says her research unearthed an underwater city nearby that was most likely Debal.

“The excavation work is still to be carried at the [underwater] city some 12 kilometers from Bhanbhore in the sea where a panel of Kufic inscription – along with one big and one small mosque – has been found,” she told Arab News.

The outline of the underwater city, she added, could be observed between 6 am and 8 p.m. on the 20th and 21st of a lunar month.

Ibrahim, whose research is yet to be published, informed that the excavated material of glass from Bhanbhore confirmed that it was imported from the Middle East since there was no kiln in this region in olden days.

“It was one of the major industrial and trade centers of the world,” she said, adding: “While the archaeological sites in Bhanbhore await more excavation, there are strong imprints of Arab Muslims.”

Topics: Pakistan Bhanbhore city archeology

Pakistan hikes electricity prices by Rs2.83 per unit citing fuel cost adjustment

Updated 8 sec ago
Follow

Pakistan hikes electricity prices by Rs2.83 per unit citing fuel cost adjustment

  • Fuel cost adjustment for March to reflect in consumers’ bills for the month of May, says power regulator
  • Pakistan has been caught in a high inflationary cycle since April 2022 due to surging food and fuel prices
Updated 8 sec ago
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) on Wednesday authorized distribution companies to levy a Rs2.83 per unit additional charge on consumers’ bills for May, with the move likely to fuel inflation in a country already suffering an economic crisis. 

A notification by NEPRA seen by Arab News stated that the fuel cost adjustment pertains to March, adding that the additional charges would apply to all consumer categories except “Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (EVCS) and lifeline consumers.”

“The said adjustment shall be shown separately in consumers’ bills on the basis of units billed to the consumer in the month of March 2024,” the notification said. 

Pakistan has been caught in a high inflationary spiral since April 2022, with the highest-ever inflation rate recorded at 38 percent in May 2023. The government credits soaring inflation to painful decisions it had to take to meet conditions for an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout program, including hiking energy tariffs and fuel prices.

Gas and electricity rates were hiked by 318.7 percent and 73 percent respectively in a year, according to official data.

The price hikes come as Pakistan is set to begin discussions with the IMF this month over a new multi-billion-dollar loan agreement after completing its nine-month, $3 billion loan arrangement with the lender. 

Under the last IMF bailout, Pakistan was told to prevent further accumulation of circular debt in its power sector, arising from subsidies and unpaid bills. For a new program, the South Asian nation will need to implement reforms to reduce costs by improving electricity transmission and distribution, moving captive power into the grid, improving governance, and combating theft. 

It will also have to maintain power and gas tariffs at levels that ensure cost recovery, with adjustments made to safeguard the financially vulnerable, through existing progressive tariff structures.
 

Topics: Pakistan Electricity bill in Pakistan

Senior World Bank official concludes Pakistan trip, reaffirms support for economic stability

Updated 08 May 2024
Follow

Senior World Bank official concludes Pakistan trip, reaffirms support for economic stability

  • World Bank Vice President for South Asia Martin Raiser meets PM Sharif, key officials in Islamabad
  • Raiser praises Pakistan’s reform plans to boost growth, attract private investment and tackle poverty
Updated 08 May 2024
KHURSHID AHMED   

KARACHI: A senior World Bank official concluded his three-day visit to Pakistan on Wednesday, reaffirming the international institution’s support for the country’s economic stabilization after meeting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and key government officials in Islamabad. 

World Bank Vice President for South Asia Martin Raiser arrived in the federal capital on May 6, with his visit taking place as Pakistan faces a chronic balance of payment crisis, forcing it to turn to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a new long-term bailout deal. 

Pakistan has faced the challenges of revenue generation and government expenditure in the past and struggled with high levels of debt, a large fiscal deficit and an ongoing need for structural reforms to improve its fiscal sustainability.

“The World Bank Vice President for South Asia, Martin Raiser, concluded his three-day visit to Pakistan today and reaffirmed the World Bank’s support to stabilize the economy and accelerate inclusive and resilient growth,” a press release by the international institution read. 

It said Raiser met Sharif, ministers of finance, water, power, energy, and petroleum, and his counterparts to discuss Pakistan’s development priorities. 

“The discussions focused on economic and fiscal reforms, human capital development, adaptation to climate change, energy sector reforms, and digitalization as a foundational enabler and accelerator of development,” the World Bank added. \

Raiser said he was pleased to learn of Pakistan’s reform plans to boost growth and attract private investment, strengthen climate resilience, and invest in human capital to tackle daunting challenges such as child stunting and poverty. 

The World Bank official also visited Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province to meet Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur. 

“Discussions focused on the provincial developmental priorities and how can the World Bank step up its support in key sectors, like education, water and sanitation, health, rural roads, and livelihoods,” the statement said. 

He also attended a national conference on education in Islamabad, where PM Sharif also spoke. Raiser reaffirmed the World Bank’s commitment to urgent action to tackle the large number of out-of-school children in Pakistan.

Topics: World Bank Pakistan

PM Sharif declares ‘education emergency’ across Pakistan to enroll out-of-school children

Updated 08 May 2024
Follow

PM Sharif declares ‘education emergency’ across Pakistan to enroll out-of-school children

  • Pakistan has one of the world’s highest out-of-school children population at 26.2 million 
  • PM Shehbaz Sharif says will personally oversee the national program to ensure its success
Updated 08 May 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday declared an “education emergency” across Pakistan on Wednesday, vowing to personally oversee the program which he hoped would enroll over 26.2 million out-of-school children in educational institutions. 

Pakistan has the second-highest population of out-of-school children in the world at 26.2 million, according to Unicef Pakistan. Pakistani experts have identified population growth, lack of localized strategies, and economic issues as the main reasons why over 26 million Pakistani children are not enrolled in schools across the country. 

A report by Pakistan’s education ministry in January revealed that out of 26.2 million out-of-school children, 11.73 million are in Punjab, 7.63 million in Sindh, 3.63 million in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and 3.13 million in Balochistan province.

Speaking at an event titled “National Conference on Education Emergency,” Sharif said enrolling millions of children back into schools was a “tall order” that could be achieved with conviction. 

“I declare from this moment an emergency in education all over Pakistan,” Sharif told members of the conference, which included federal ministers, parliamentarians, vice-chancellors, and diplomats. 

The Pakistani prime minister said he would personally oversee the national program, adding that he would meet the chief ministers of all four provinces in the country for the sake of Pakistani children and their future. 

“This is about our children and our future,” Sharif said. “This is a very challenging task, no doubt. But nations which had faced difficulties and defeat in the past arose from the ashes of defeat.”

He hoped provincial governments in Pakistan would help the center in achieving its goal of promoting education in the country and transforming it into an educated nation. 

“I guarantee, if we move in unison to find our space, Pakistan will become one of the most educated societies one day soon,” he remarked. 
 

Topics: out of school children in Pakistan Pakistan Education Arab News Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif

Pakistan’s first lunar satellite ICUBE-Q successfully enters moon’s orbit 

Updated 08 May 2024
Follow

Pakistan’s first lunar satellite ICUBE-Q successfully enters moon’s orbit 

  • ICUBE-Q was deployed in moon’s orbit around 1:14 p.m. Pakistan Standard Time, says Institute of Space technology official 
  • IST official describes development as “important” one for Pakistan allowing it to conduct “bigger” space missions in future
Updated 08 May 2024
Shahjahan Khurram

Islamabad: Pakistan’s first lunar satellite ICUBE-Q entered the moon’s orbit successfully today, Wednesday, a senior official of the country’s Institute of Space Technology (IST) confirmed, saying the “important” development could pave the way for “bigger” space missions for the country in the future.

The ICUBE-Qamar satellite carries two optical cameras to image the lunar surface and weighs around 7kg. Cubesats are tiny box-shaped satellites that are mainly launched into low Earth orbit to observe the Earth, test new communications technology, or perform miniature experiments.

Pakistan’s first lunar satellite was launched aboard China’s Chang’e-6 probe on May 3. The Chinese probe is tasked with landing on the far side of the moon, which perpetually faces away from the Earth, after which it will retrieve and return samples. China is the first country to make such an ambitious attempt.

“Our ICUBE-Q was deployed successfully in its orbit at 1:14 p.m. Pakistan Standard Time,” Dr. Khurram Khurshid, the head of the electrical engineering and computer science department at IST and a co-lead on the satellite project, told Arab News.

Dr. Khurshid said Pakistani officials will continue to test the satellite’s system for the next three to four days. He said initial tests revealed there were no complications with the cubesat’s system. 

The IST official said the development means Pakistan is officially in an exclusive club of countries that have conducted deep space missions. 

“This is the first step, a step in the right direction,” Dr. Khurshid noted. “It can lead to bigger space missions, such as landing on the moon or various other experiments.”

Dr. Khurshid said Pakistan would be able to share images from the satellite by May 15. 

Around 100 students from IST contributed to developing the satellite. Pakistan’s proposal to build the satellite was accepted by the China National Space Agency (CNSA) from plans submitted by eight member states of the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO). 

The design, development, and qualification of the ICUBE-Q satellite were spearheaded by faculty members and students of the IST in collaboration with China’s Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), with support from Pakistan’s National Space Agency, SUPARCO.

The ICUBE-Q has two cameras as payload for taking images of the lunar surface that will be transmitted back to Earth for analysis. 
 

Topics: ICUBE-Qamar ICUBE-Q Pakistan lunar satellite

Taliban deny Pakistani claims of Afghan involvement in attack on Chinese workers

Updated 08 May 2024
Follow

Taliban deny Pakistani claims of Afghan involvement in attack on Chinese workers

  • According to Islamabad, bombing that killed five Chinese in Pakistan was planned in Afghanistan
  • Afghan defense ministry says the March attack showed weakness of Pakistan’s security agencies
Updated 08 May 2024
MODASER ISLAMI

KABUL: The Taliban rejected on Wednesday allegations of Afghan involvement in a recent deadly attack on Chinese workers in neighboring Pakistan.

The five Chinese nationals, who were employed on the site of a hydropower project in Dasu in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, were killed alongside their driver in a suicide blast on March 26.

Pakistan’s military said on Tuesday that the attack was planned in Afghanistan and that the attacker was an Afghan citizen.

Maj. Gen. Ahmad Sharif, a spokesperson for Pakistan’s army, also told reporters that Islamabad had “solid evidence” of militants using Afghan soil to launch attacks in Pakistan, that since the beginning of the year such assaults had killed more than 60 security personnel, and that authorities in Kabul were unhelpful in addressing the violence.

The Taliban’s Ministry of Defense responded on Wednesday that the claims were “irresponsible and far from the reality.” 

“Blaming Afghanistan for such incidents is a failed attempt to divert attention from the truth, and we strongly reject it,” Enayatullah Khwarazmi, the ministry’s spokesperson, said in a statement.

“The killing of Chinese citizens in an area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which is under tight security cover of the Pakistani army shows the weakness of the Pakistani security agencies or cooperation with the attackers.”

The Dasu attack followed two other major assaults in regions where China has invested more than $65 billion in infrastructure projects as part of its wider Belt and Road Initiative.

On March 25, a naval air base was attacked in Turbat in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, and on March 20, militants stormed a government compound in nearby Gwadar district, which is home to a Chinese-operated port.

Pakistan is home to twin insurgencies, one by militants related to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan — the Pakistani Taliban — and the other by ethnic separatists who seek secession in southwestern Balochistan province, which remains Pakistan’s poorest despite being rich in natural resources.

While the attacks in Balochistan were claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army — the most prominent of several separatist groups in the province, no group claimed responsibility for the one in Dasu.

Blaming it on Afghanistan, however, was “baseless,” according to Naseer Ahmad Nawidy, international relations professor at Salam University in Kabul.

“The insurgency in the region has existed for very long now and cannot be attributed to a specific area or country. Pakistan looks at the Islamic Emirate in its current form as a threat to its interests. The Pakistan government needs to develop its relations with the Islamic Emirate based on equal rights and good will for stability in the whole region,” Nawidy told Arab News.

“Stability in the region requires mutual cooperation and trust. The governments in Afghanistan and Pakistan must end the relations crisis at the earliest. Repeating such claims will further increase the tensions and may cause enmity between the two countries.”

Abdul Saboor Mubariz, political scientist and lecturer at Alfalah University in Jalalabad, said Pakistan’s claims were meant to put pressure on the Taliban to help Islamabad in its campaign against the TTP.

“Pakistan’s government is using different forms of pressure such as forcible deportation of Afghan refugees, claims about security threats from Afghanistan, closing border points and creating challenges for Afghan traders,” he said, adding that accusations and claims of links to attacks were affecting the Taliban administration as it still sought recognition from foreign governments.

“The claims are critical for the Islamic Emirate as it is seeking engagement with the countries in the region and across the globe, while the government remains unrecognized by all world countries.”

Topics: Taliban #afghanistan Dasu bus attack

Related

video
Pakistan
Pakistan army says March suicide bombing that killed five Chinese planned in Afghanistan

Latest updates

Pakistan hikes electricity prices by Rs2.83 per unit citing fuel cost adjustment
AstraZeneca to withdraw COVID vaccine globally as demand dips
Senior World Bank official concludes Pakistan trip, reaffirms support for economic stability
India PM Modi’s party deletes X post accused of targeting Muslims
South Gaza hospitals have only three days’ fuel left: WHO
Hospitals in the southern Gaza Strip have only three days of fuel left, the head of the World Health Organization said Wednesday

Search form

Print Edition
Read pdf version Subscribe now
© 2024 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.