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By Hamid Asghar

A Vanishing Fort---The Monument of Criminal Neglect of Archeology Department. 
By Hamid Asghar
Pakka KhanPur fort is located just 10 Km North of Gujar Khan near Bahddana town and it was constructed during the Mughal era.This fort is located at the elevated plan above the small river Kansi. This fort can be termed as the living example of the criminal neglect of the archeological authorities who are totally ignorant of their basic duty of preserving these monuments of the vanished glory of the continents past. The compound of the Pakka Kahn Pur Fort is completely occupied by the people who have unlawfully constructed houses in side the compound by utilizing the bricks and other structures of the fort. They are also cultivating the lands in side the fort. Meanwhile the remnant rooms and halls of the fort are being used either as lodgings or cattle pens by the dwellers. The remnant walls inside and out side are littered with dung –cakes that are pasted by the dwellers for fuel purpose. 
About two years back the Prime Minister Jammali had landed in vicinity of this fort in Changa Mera village where he obliged his friend by announcing sui gas supply to his friend’s village but this unfortunate fort could not get the attention of the government. 

The remnant for consists of the front wall, the main entrance, a post on the eastern side and a post on the south western side. There is a huge well in side the compound that is full of clean drinking water. Although the walls are ravished with regular dismantling and pasting of dung-cakes even then nothing can snatch away from its remains the their grandeur and grace that characterizes the abodes of the emperors of the past.
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The village Pakka Khanpur was was founded by Sultan Bare nagu after the name of His father. In the Potohari language Pakka means firm or pavedor concrete built. During the reigne of Sultan jajaluddin Akbar the Mughal dynasty his general Sultan Jalaluddin Khan Ghakkar built a court here and the building were constructed with briks and thus the name prefix Pakka was added to the Khan Pur village that was actually established by Sultan Bare Nagu.
According to the historians the village was located at the main highway leading from Kabul to Kashmir and thus this area was visited by various Mughal forces and emperors of the Past. According to some historians this fort in its exixting form was constructed by Sher Shah Suri who persued his policy of chasing the Ghakkars in Potohar region including Rohtaas.
The main entrance has two tombs and two storey side rooms. The main entrance is also being used as kettle pen by the dwellers. There are also the remains of captious mosque or Eid Ghah in the compound but it has been ravished by the encroachers while a new mosque has been constructed. There is also a shrine in the compound and according to the inhabitants there was actual an elevated grave inside the fort and later on it was converted into a shrine by the faithful. 
A local when asked whether the locals were the land owners according to the record of the revenue department, he commented that who ever had power could occupy more land for his family and there was not revenue documentation in this regard. 
Another dweller Khadim Hussain,an ex-armyman while talking to dawn said that the ravishing of the fort was a tragedy and he on his part was fore bidding the fellow residents to stop ruining the beauty of the fort but according to Khadim his warning were falling on deaf ears. 
An official of the archeology department when contacted termed the ravishing of the Pakka Khanpur fort a national loss and over the condition of anonymity he revealed that the internationally reputed archeological sites like Harrappa near Sahiwaal district were even not safe from the land mafia and a local influential ‘Pir Sahib’ was encroaching the government land in the pretext of establishing a grave yard there. The officer said that there was the need of establishing the writ of law to free the archeological sites from the encroachers. 
Quite ironically this fort located in vicinity of centre of power could not gain the attention of the archeological department. 
There is the dire need that the archeological department should take measures for the rehabilitation of this precious monument of archeology and restore its grandeur.

Editor: Imran Bashir
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