Re-reading the heritage legislations of Pakistan

Abstract

The current policies and procedures of conserving heritage in Pakistan are largely a continuation of the British Raj: mostly based upon the guidelines of the 'Ancient Monuments Preservation Act of 1904'. Since independence in 1947, these legislations are altered from time to time. With a major development in 2011 of transferring of power from national to provincial level. British developed these legislation's for mainly pre-colonial archaeological sites and historic monuments, in the current context some of the colonial and post-colonial sites are not even considered heritage in Pakistan. The paper provides an insight into the development of these legislations, and transition from colonial to post-colonial period in a chronological order, and vocabulary associated with the heritage. The aim of this re-reading is to look for issues and gaps in the current legislations due to which some heritage is under threat. But we also address industrial sites/typology currently not considered as heritage, but with historic value and potential in urban regeneration.