KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly was on Monday informed that the provincial government was planning to repair, restore, renovate and preserve the historic Mughal-era Shahjahan Masjid in Thatta, reported leading English daily.
Culture, Tourism and Antiquities Minister Sardar Shah said this in response to a calling-attention notice of Thatta MPA Syed Ameer Hyder Shah Sheerazi.
Sheerazi of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had called to attention the 400-year-old heritage monument from the Mughal era. Demanding a special package for its preservation, he asked the government for steps, if any, to repair and restore its grandeur.
Tracing the history of the mosque, Shah said that the mosque was built in 1642 and the first repair and restoration work was carried out during the rule of Emperor Aurangzeb in 1692.
He said the restoration was carried out for the second time during the rule of Mir Murad Ali Talpur in 1812. However, since independence, the heritage building had been largely neglected.
He said in 2008 when the antiquities department was established in Sindh, the Pakistan Peoples Party government had included a Rs67 million scheme in the annual development programme for repair and restoration of the mosque and that the work was completed in 2016.
The minister said that after the development of power under the 18th Amendment, the mosque was transferred to the local government department under the supervision of the deputy commissioner.
The Sindh government had written to the deputy commissioner to hand over the mosque to the antiquities department so that proper schemes could be worked out for the repair and restoration of the grandeur of the mosque.