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Chinese Heritage Protection Laws and Legislative Framework is very well defined and has thought of everything. In Pakistan, we do not have that advanced Legislative Framework. We are trying to establish authorities which can develop such laws and ways to implement it.

As far as the question of establishing laws and regulations to protect the heritage sites that are still inhabited is concerned, the WCLA (Walled City of Lahore Authority) has been trying to educate residents of the historic houses how to protect this heritage asset. Some of the residents respond positively, others ask for suitable funding for carrying out the required conservation work. This is proving to be a huge financial liability upon the authority.

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How do laws and regulations provides a framework to answer to the needs and interests of multiple stakeholders?
The laws usually help in providing balance between all the parties involved in the process of conservation.

How does the programme reconcile the general principles with the specific requirements of each unit (ie. courtyards or buildings)?
I guess, through mixed land use, approval systems, community planner system, implementation path and diverse procedures

How do you establish a management method for the “small scale and gradual” long term operation pattern?

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How do you balance heritage authenticity, livelihood improvement and economic growth?

I think it is very difficult to balance all three, there will always be some sort of a compromise. In an ideal situation the economic growth initiatives linked with the heritage site should propagate livelihood improvements, and when people get aware of the importance of the heritage site for their economic growth, then they will respect the heritage and will do their best to protect and retain its authenticity. Eviction of people should be considered as a negative activity for protecting the heritage authenticity as you are alienating the very people whose heritage you are trying to conserve.

How do you set up heritage conservation rules for declining cities, especially in large-scale?

Very recently, the first of its kind authority for the protection of the old walled city of Lahore (WCLA – Walled City Lahore Authority) has been setup in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The sole responsibility of this authority is to protect the historic urban fabric of the old city of Lahore. The authority is trying to engage the residents of the city in conservation and preservation activities. they are building the capacity of the residents with three main focuses:
a. Through raising awareness of the importance of heritage in which they live
b. How to protect that heritage which they call their ‘Home’, and training them in the skills and tools of conservation so that they can actively participate in the activity of protecting their city
c. How to engage the community in creative entrepreneurship initiatives

There were a few difficulties in the beginning but since then, there has been no drastic changes or reconstruction in the old urban fabric (thank god due to lack of funding), but a large number of livelihood improvements, such as streetscaping, health and safety, underground wiring system, etc.

More results are still to be observed.

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The Tourism Department provides some incentives for the community which are engaged in the cultural and creative industries.

Adaptive Reuse of certain heritage sites has made possible to generate diverse incentives, such as the rehabilitation of the Royal Kitchens at the Lahore Fort has provided economic possibilities to traditional cuisine creators and food enthusiast.

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Every Department and Authority has their own ways of dealing with the offenders. For the ETPB and the Ministry of Information and Culture, it is the FINE and in extreme situation, DEMOLITION.

These DO NOT work.

Sharing one of a classic example:
The Auqaf Department is an organization which looks after the shrines of Sufi saints in our country. Every person wants to get buried near the grave of the saint and they are willing to pay large amount of money for this purpose. It is their belief that the grounds closer to the saint will protect their after life and provide them with salvation. These shrines are as old as 7th century AD, and no new construction is permitted. There is a huge fine in order to discourage new graves being dug. However, those who can afford, are willing to pay that fine and ‘Buy’ a grave on the consecrated land. The Auqaf department also welcomes the money as they then use the fine money for the upkeep and maintenance of the shrines.

This system is working for the people, for the department, for the belief system, for keeping the memory of the saint alive, but it is really harming the historic fabric of the entire complex of the shrine.

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It will be easy for me to take a particular site as my case study and then try to answer the question:
Taking the Gurdwaras as the case study:

Political Systems: We have the Ministry of Information, Culture and Youth Affairs which look after the Heritage Sites. They have done very little for the protection of the heritage sites especially those ones which are considered to not have any economic benefit. In the case of the Gurdwaras, this heritage type comes under the ETPB (Evacuee Trust Properties Board) which was created when Pakistan gained its independence and a number of Sikh religious community migrated to India and left their heritage in Pakistan. This ETPB have only looked after these sites, doing very little or nothing for its promotion or protection.

Cultural Safeguarding Systems: We follow the ICH Convention 2003 and under it the ministry try to protect the ICH elements of the community. UNESCO and now World Bank, along with other international grant agencies, like ICOMOS, USAID, Korean Fund, Norway Funding, Prince Claus Funding, etc, assist a number of heritage conservation and management projects, which enable the experts to engage international laws for safeguarding our heritage.

Heritage Governance Models: We have none. We have the Antiquity Law and the Protection of the Special Premises Ordinance and the Walled City Authority but these are not enough for instating a National level Legislative Framework for the Protection of Heritage Sites. We still use the Nara Document and Burra Charter as our reference documents.

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In Pakistan we have a national Antiquity Act of 1975, amended in 2012, and a provincial Punjab Special Premises Protection Act. These two laws have been outdated and have proven to be insufficient for the protection of the heritage sites. Most of the conservation professionals use and follow the ICOMOS and international charters for conservation. The Departments of Archaeology do not have a specific law. In 2018, the Walled City of Lahore Authority passed a law which is only applicable within the historic walled city of Lahore.

The province of Punjab, through its Tourism organization, is formulating a number of Integrated Site Management Plans in order to better equip the heritage sites in managing the conservation and economic development through tourism initiatives. Without any law, the common fear is that the heritage sites will be preserved with a focus not on the conservation of the heritage site, but on the tourism facilities and upgradation of the heritage site.

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According to the culture of Pakistan, it is the people who build the historic structures and hence tangible is shaped by the intangible. The word ‘Integrated Approach’ has become a very acceptable term for the conservation professionals of Pakistan. It is the community who is the custodian of the heritage sites, and it is them who are to be educated for protecting these valuable heritage sites. The myths, skills, knowledge, songs and other associated cultural significances shape the aura around the tangible built heritage of Pakistan, one is not separated from the other.

As for the sustainable development, the cultural and creative industry which is prevalent in the surrounding and stakeholder community of the heritage sites need to be engaged as heritage entrepreneurship. Consultative meetings with the community members may present diverse opportunities for this, such as community tourism operators, catering and hospitality, local transportation to and from the heritage site, local cuisine, etc.

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In Pakistan, we do not have any Law or Legal Framework which specifies a particular set of Heritage Values. This situation can be beneficial in some cases as it provides an open list of heritage values from which the heritage professional can identify and chose the applicable heritage values. In some cases it can prove harmful as not many experts know about the available heritage values. The general practice in our country is to either use the cultural significances defined in the Burra Charter, or use the heritage values identified in the English Heritage document of conservation guidelines and principles.

For me, there are three heritage values I find extremely useful:
1- Communal Value – this value encompasses the social, cultural and community value, the value which the stakeholders associate with the site
2- Contextual Value – this value deals with the location of the heritage site and encompasses its historicity, geographical importance, landscape and cultural setting
3- Evidential Value – this value encompasses the historic and architectural value, of it being an evidence of a historic event, an evidence of a historic dynasty, an evidence of an architectural style or architectural technological development.

For me, every heritage site presents its own set of heritage values, and hence some values can be fixed, but there should be an option of expanding the list of heritage values

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