Islamabad, 5 November, 2026 (Kamran Raja): Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has strengthened its cultural cooperation with China through agreements with Chinese institutions aimed at preserving, digitising and promoting its valuable Gandharan heritage, a provincial archaeology official said on Wednesday. Fawad Khan, Assistant Director at the Directorate General of Archaeology and Museums, said the province faced significant challenges in protecting its historical treasures, describing the task of safeguarding heritage sites as a major responsibility. He revealed that the directorate manages 15 museums and thousands of archaeological sites, while the Peshawar Museum alone houses approximately 10,000 Gandharan sculptures. Khan identified illegal excavations, looting and antiquities smuggling as major threats to the province’s cultural heritage, highlighting cooperation with China as an important step towards addressing these challenges. Pakistan and China signed an agreement in 2022 to prevent the theft, illicit excavation and illegal trade of cultural property, followed by another agreement on heritage cooperation in October 2025. The provincial archaeology directorate has also entered into memorandums of understanding with Chinese institutions to digitise museum collections and develop digital catalogues. In March 2025, it established a digital heritage partnership with Tsinghua University, involving advanced technologies such as 3D scanning and digital modelling to document and preserve historical artefacts.

Fazal ur Rahman, Executive Director of the Pakistan Council on China, said cultural heritage preservation was an important dimension of bilateral cooperation under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). He noted that China’s advanced preservation technologies could significantly support Pakistan in protecting and promoting its national heritage. Gandharan art has also been showcased in China through international exhibitions, including a major display of 203 artefacts at Beijing’s Palace Museum in March 2023, with 173 pieces loaned by Pakistan. The exhibition subsequently travelled to museums in Gansu and Shenzhen. Khan said the directorate was planning further exhibitions at museums across China to introduce Gandharan civilisation to wider audiences. Besides its cooperation with China, the directorate has collaborated with Germany’s Ruhr University Bochum to digitally catalogue Gandharan sculptures preserved at the Dir Museum, while an Italian archaeological mission has also been conducting research in the province for several years. Khan said historical connections between Pakistan and China dated back thousands of years, with Buddhism, trade and cultural exchanges flourishing along the ancient Silk Road. He added that Gandharan artistic traditions had influenced Buddhist heritage sites in Dunhuang, Kucha and the Kizil Caves, reflecting the deep cultural links between the two regions.