Category: Environment

On an average summer’s day when the rest of Lahore sullenly waits in the heat for the electricity to return, Shahid Razzaq’s family lounges peacefully, their air conditioner running and all appliances working. While in other households the sudden and frequent power blackouts are greeted with groans and resigned sighs, the Razzaq family doesn’t even notice. And they certainly never have to switch on a generator.

That’s because they’re almost completely ‘off the grid’, having tired of the vagaries of Wapda some time back. Instead, they turn to what they consider to be a far more reliable source of power: the sun. And in a city that experienced up to 20 hours of loadshedding in a single day last summer, this is no small blessing.

Fed up of the never-ending power crisis, Razzaq took the plunge and installed solar cells on his roof. Of course he hasn’t yet fully cut the Wapda cord.

“We actually have a hybrid system running,” he says. “During the day when the sun is out, we use the solar cells. At night we shift to Wapda. Usually before we switch over, we know that we have about eight hours of backup electricity that has been generated during the day.” Razzaq appears to be content with this solution, as would anyone who isn’t sweating thanks to what is one of the most persistent problems in Pakistan.

Appliances that run on solar power in this house include two freezers, a television, computer, iron, microwave and, amazingly enough, two air conditioners.

“I can use anything and everything at home,” says his wife. “Never has life been so peaceful.”

Razzaq says that he has installed solar cells of six kilowatts. “But one can even get higher wattage and run only on solar power instead of using a hybrid line. In fact we have a surplus of electricity during the day time.”

Unfortunately, this surplus is more or less wasted here. In other countries surplus electricity is given back to the grid station and the same amount is returned to the consumer in the shape of free units through smart meters. But not in Pakistan.

“If only we could have this advantage, things would be so much easier and fair for the average citizen trying to actually conserve electricity,” he says.

His son-in-law, Moez Naseer, who is coincidently a software engineer in a solar power firm, explains that if the government shifts ever so slightly with regard to its policies and introduces one that allows citizens to generate their own electricity, everyone would be better off.

“Think of all the benefits of just one simple policy,” he says. “The government’s provision of electric power would meet the demand better, instead of being at a deficit all the time. For the consumer, it would be slightly expensive but at least he would get uninterrupted power, and it would be a relief to solve your power issues on your own.”

They both stress that if the government would take this into serious consideration, this would prove to be a landmark step towards the future of energy in Pakistan.

It is true that the initial investment cost was high for Razzaq. “For our six kilowatt solar panels, including the batteries, the invertors, installation, etc. it all came to about Rs900,000. But that is nothing compared to the running cost of fuel used in a generator, not to mention the fact that you’re using up fossil fuels, and causing both air and noise pollution. Our decision to install solar panels did not just revolve around the financial aspect, although of course that was a major part of it. Our decision was also based on the environmental aspect.”

Razzaq has installed 34 solar panels of 235 watts each, costing up to Rs80 per watt. Cleverly he has not been sucked into branding and has instead imported unbranded panels from China, and has had them installed separately. The batteries are of 200 Amp each and he must use eight batteries to provide him for four hours backup everyday.

“We use the ACs but if someone doesn’t want to consider putting up an AC in his house or office, then the cost can come down greatly,” he says, giving an estimated decrease of about Rs0.5 million at least for the initial installment. “There is really no maintenance cost, except taking care of the batteries and having them changed every seven years or so. But that is nothing compared to the maintenance cost of generators.”

With this investment, they find that the durability is a lot to boast about. The batteries can last up to seven or eight years (there are dry ones that he uses but wet batteries can also be used), while the solar cells can last up to 25 years. In winter or in an overcast day the yield will definitely be less, but then so is the overall pressure on the grid. But perhaps the greatest sign of the success of his approach is the amount of people who ask him how his system works.

Razzaq argues that the more people who opt to go solar, the lower the overall cost will become. Not only will there be greater competition in the market, but banks may also launch products that make it easier to finance solar-powed solutions. And there is certainly a great deal of interest in solar power, as evidenced by the interest people show in Razaaq’s solution.

“A lot of people have shown interest in this and have asked me to help them out,” he says. “The best part is that there is no harm being done to the environment in any way, and that there is just no ‘wastage’ of electricity: it’s clean energy, and Pakistan should seriously tap into this on a local and governmental level,” he says.

In sharp contrast the second category of visitors is the rich, self-indulgent and uncouth ruling class of the Gulf countries. These predators arrive with plane loads of arrogance and pomposity (disguised in holy appearances), with a singular objective of annihilating the peaceful and harmless migratory birds.

Complicit in this crime is the environmentally insensitive government of Pakistan. Instead of protecting and preserving these magnificent birds, the government promotes this massacre by eagerly offering “permits to kill”. These documents are essentially void ‘ab initio’ as the hunting of the internationally protected migratory bird is banned under various local and international conservation laws.

These unending violent encounters have resulted in near extinction of the endangered rare birds and dilapidation of the little that is left of our dwindling environments. There is yet another negative fallout of this illegal and unethical yearly carnage which may be termed as the ‘houbara vehicle’ syndrome. At the end of the killing season, there are scores of unregistered, non-duty paid, foreign license plate vehicles that the affluent visitors leave behind as gifts, bribe or charity to the local hosts and officials. A small price to pay for continuing a racket that would earn anyone a place behind bars anywhere in the world.

Now imagine for a moment, the PM of Pakistan driving in a Gulf country in a car with Pakistani number plate. He will certainly be stopped by the ‘shurta’, fined and forced to follow the law. How come hundreds of vehicles carrying Gulf number plates are driving with complete impunity in Pakistan for past several years. Why has our police not been empowered to check these fraudulent vehicles that are neither duty-paid nor registered in Pakistan. A nuclear state’s police ought to have the courage and confidence to flag down a ‘houbara vehicle’ and either impound it or send it back to the country it came from.

“As a result of the climate change, high humidity levels, which had previously been confined to the port city of Karachi, were recorded throughout Sindh,” said Zafar Junejo, chief executive officer of the Thardeep Rural Development Programme, a non-profit NGO.

“The rainfall was unusual to say the least; continuous and with raindrops that were thrice the size of those recorded in previous years,” he told The News, “Add to that the inappropriate interventions made at the site, which include incidents such as certain tombs serving as makeshift toilets.”

“In the recent past, Makli has witnessed the worst kind of pollution,” he said, “Many of the tombs were already damaged and their condition was not helped by the antics of several NGOs. These particular organizations not only started plying their vehicles at the necropolis, they even organized cricket matches there.”

Junejo added that a few other NGOs were so careless that they collected artefacts from the necropolis to present as gifts to donors, including tiles used to adorn graves. The situation has deteriorated to the point where UNESCO has hinted that Makli’s status as a world heritage site might be revoked.

However, the Sindh government has been granted more time for conservation efforts at the necropolis, as, in a report submitted to the World Heritage Committee, a team of experts had suggested that the body wait to see results of the steps actually being taken, before deciding whether to include it in the List of World Heritage in Danger.

As reported by a leading English daily of Pakistan last year, the recommendation has been made in a report prepared after a joint team of UNESCO and the International Council of Sites and Monuments (ICOMOS) conducted a visit to Makli from May 5 to May 10, 2012.

Junejo said the natural depression of Makli is towards Kinjhar Lake but influential agriculturalists have occupied significant portions of the necropolis, blocking the natural terrain and water flow.

The most damage, however, was caused after the floods of 2011 as the government set up makeshift arrangements in Makli, which is on higher ground, for the displaced victims. According to Junejo, the necropolis is under severe pressure from three or four districts: Karachi, Thatta, Kirthar Range and Badin. According to a book, ‘History on Tombstones: Sindh and Baluchistan’, published by the Sindhi Adabi Board and authored by (late) Ali Ahmed Brohi, the entire five-kilometre stretch of the Makli Hill is dotted by various mausoleums, sepulchres, vaulted domes, arches, towers, porticos and gateways which rise in a long succession above shapeless heaps and mounds.

It is impossible to guess when the Makli Hill was first used as a cemetery. The area has had a vague sacredness associated with it from a very early time. With the tomb of Jam Nando Nizamuddin, we enter recorded history. This tomb, which represents a distinctly Hindu design and style of architecture, was built in 1508 AD, according to Brohi.

In fact, the very name ‘Makli’ suggests the existence of the ancient temple of ‘Mahakali’, from which the present term seems to have been derived. Thatta has been the capital of lower Sindh since the times of the Sammas, but its architectural glory started with the Tarkhan rulers. The mausoleum of Mirza Isa Tarkhan is built entirely of stone but that of his son, Mohammad Baqi, and all subsequent tombs of distinction comprise of glazed tiles and brick masonry of a very superior order. Many of the edifices, the tombs of Amirs, Jams and Begs, were completed after years and years of patient labour. The interiors of the tombs are almost wholly covered with carvings largely consisting of texts from the Holy Quran in the Arabic or Persian script, writes Brohi.

The principal tombs are those of Mirza Jani Beg (1599), Mirza Ghazi Beg (1612), Mirza Isa Tarkhan II (1644), Mirza Dughral Beg, Diwan Shurfu Khan (1638), Amir Khalil Khan (1580), Mirza Isa Tarkan (1573), Jam Nizamuddin (1508) and Syed Amir Shirazi (1572).

The southern extremity of the tombstone has an inscription in Persian that reads:

“Died the pitied, the forgiven, who attained the protection of the most gracious king, Badi-al-Zaman, son of Shah Rukh Khan, in the year 11 (1011 A.H/1602-03 A.D).”

The bird-serpent in Zoroastrian lore represents a conflict between the forces of light and darkness. Similarly, in Indian mythology, this symbol represents a continuous conflict between the heavenly and worldly forces, writes Brohi.

The motif of the bird of prey, whether a falcon, a peacock or a double-headed eagle, holding a snake in its claws, is popularly believed to be a Buddhist symbol. In Turkish paintings, the episode of Adam and Eve being tempted by Satan is represented in the form of a serpent watched by an eagle and a peacock, according to Brohi.

Responding to queries from The News, ex-Sindh Culture Secretary, Aziz Uquali, said, “A UNESCO mission comprising of Mr Michael Jansen and Princess Alexandra visited all World Heritage Sites (WHS) in Pakistan in early 2011. They made certain observations on almost every WHS, which have been duly attended to. The steps taken by Government of Sindh, Culture Department, include (a) preparation of a master plan for Makli, which is in the final stages; (b) conservation/preservation of individual monuments (recently taken up); (c) signing of MoU (in February 2012) between the Culture Department and Heritage Foundation of Pakistan for documentation and preservation of Samma Cluster of Makli Necropolis and capacity building of officials of the Archaeology Department; and (d) preparation of Disaster Management Plan for flood victims and collaboration with District/Civil Administration, Thatta.”

When questioned over whether there was any truth to reports that former culture minister Sassui Palijo’s father has encroached upon a considerable portion of the necropolis, the ex-secretary denied the claims, stating, “This is factually incorrect. It is a baseless allegation, without any evidence or substance.”

In reply to another question regarding whether any action will be initiated over the construction of government offices on land falling under the limits of the necropolis, Uquali said, “A few office buildings, constructed decades ago by Federal Department of Archaeology & Museums, Ministry of Culture for administration and management of the WHS, are in accordance with the Antiquities Act, 1975. There is neither any violation of law nor any negligence whatsoever. There is no plan to remove these buildings.”

When questioned over the criminal negligence of the irrigation department in maintenance of canals, which had caused much damage to the necropolis during the floods, and how the government plans to prevent further damage, he said, “That does not pertain to the Sindh Culture Department and the Irrigation Department will be in a better position to answer the question. Flooding does not pose a direct threat to the Makli, it affects the necropolis indirectly, when flood victims occupy the area, as was the case in 2010. In this regard, the Culture Department has prepared a Disaster Management Plan to effectively handle any such situation in the future.”

Kevin Gallagher, the local representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations based in Islamabad, in response to a query by The News, said: “You raise some interesting issues – especially on cultural heritage sites which I have not thought about. UNESCO may have some information. Also, I have noted the different roles of the World Food Program and FAO. Basically, WFP assists in food distribution while FAO works to get people back to productive work and also to recover assets such as irrigation, livestock and seeds. The UN works closely with government agencies to ensure common goals are met through joint actions as an inter-governmental organization, in which Pakistan is a key player globally! (e.g. one of the top UN peacekeeping forces, UN Security Council member). Indeed, I think this aspect of Pakistan’s contribution to international agencies should be highlighted more to acknowledge the work done by Pakistan and to build the image and confidence of Pakistanis, who should know that they are in fact a strong member of the international community. Many people seem to feel that Pakistan is a victim of the international community rather than a full player!”

Dr. Kozue Kay Nagata, Director/Representative of UNESCO Pakistan said she was not sure about the extent of the damage suffered by the Makli necropolis in and after 2010’s flooding. “This is a question for the Sindh government, as it is their responsibility,” she said, “UNESCO is assisting the government in many ways and we have a few projects, staff trainings, DRM components etc. that we have conducted in the past and will continue in the future.”

A major earthquake has killed at least 327 people and left thousands more injured and homeless in a remote region of southwestern Pakistan.

The Pakistani military said it was rushing troops and helicopters to Awaran district in Baluchistan province where the magnitude 7.7 quake struck on Tuesday afternoon.

The quake was felt as far away as New Delhi, the Indian capital, some 1,200 kilometers (about 740 miles) away, but no damage or injuries were immediately reported there.

In Pakistani cities such as Karachi along the Arabian Sea and Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, people ran into the streets in fear, praying for their lives when the quake hit.

Local officials said they were sending doctors, food and 1,000 tents for people who had nowhere to sleep as strong aftershocks continued to shake the region.

Most of the victims were killed when their houses collapsed. Pakistani television showed pictures of the area.

Walls of the mud brick houses had collapsed and people were gathered outside because they had no homes to sleep in.

Devastation: Baluchistan is Pakistan’s largest province but also the least populated and most impoverished. Awaran district has about 300,000 residents

Emergency response: Local officials said they were sending doctors, food and 1,000 tents for people who had nowhere to sleep as strong aftershocks continued to shake the region

Pakistani officials were investigating a small island that appeared off the coast of Pakistan after the quake, apparently the result of earth and mud pushed to the surface by the quake.

The head of the Geological Survey of Pakistan confirmed that the mass was created by the quake and said scientists were trying to determine how it happened.

Zahid Rafi said such masses are sometimes created by the movement of gases locked in the earth under the sea, pushing mud and earth up to the surface in something akin to a mud volcano.

‘When such a strong earthquake builds pressure, there is the likelihood of such islands emerging,’ he said. ‘That big shock beneath the earth causes a lot of disturbance.’

To get a better idea of what the island is made of and how permanent it is, scientists will have to get samples of the material to see if it’s mostly soft mud or rocks and harder material.

He said these types of islands can remain for a long time or eventually subside back into the ocean, depending on their makeup.

A Pakistani Navy team reached the island by midday Wednesday, navy geologist Mohammed Danish told the country’s Geo Television. He said the mass was about 60 feet (18 meters) high, 100 feet (30 meters) long and 250 feet (76 meters) wide.

‘There are stones and mud,’ he said, warning residents not to try to visit the island. ‘Gases are still emitting.’

But dozens of people had already visited the island, said the deputy commissioner of Gwadar district, Tufail Baloch, who traveled by boat himself to the island Wednesday morning.

Water bubbled along the edges of the island, in what appeared to be gas discharging from under the surface, Baloch said.

He said the area smelled of gas that caught fire when people lit cigarettes.
Dead fish floated on the water’s surface while local residents were visiting the island and taking stones as souvenirs, he added.

Such land masses have appeared before off Pakistan’s Makran coast, said Muhammed Arshad, a hydrographer with the navy. After quakes in 1999 and 2010, new land masses rose up along a different part of the coast about 282 kilometers (175 miles) east of Gwadar, he said.

He said each of those disappeared back into the sea within a year during the monsoon season, a period of heavy rain and wind that sweeps Pakistan every summer. He said that in the area where the island was created on Tuesday, the sea is only about six to seven meters (23 feet) deep.

Baluchistan is Pakistan’s largest province but also the least populated and most impoverished. Awaran district has about 300,000 residents.

Many residents are believed to be involved in smuggling fuel from Iran, while others harvest dates.

The area where the quake struck is at the center of an insurgency that Baluch separatists have been waging against the Pakistani government for years.

The separatists regularly attack Pakistani troops and symbols of the state, such as infrastructure projects.

Baluchistan and neighboring Iran are prone to earthquakes. A magnitude 7.8 quake centered just across the border in Iran killed at least 35 people in Pakistan last April.

The trip to Mohenjo-Daro is assuredly arduous, but it is nonetheless worthwhile. Rising tall above the mist enveloped and fertile plains of rural Sindh, Mohenjo-Daro is a breathtaking spectacle, a reminder of the historical might and significance of our country.

Startling a person at first sight by its immense splendor, Mohenjo-Daro compels us to imagine for a moment the sheer intellect the ancient dwellers of this city had for their times. If the ruins are this majestic, one  imagines, how magnificent would the city have been at its zenith?

Striking Grandeur and Magnificence: 

Mohenjo-Daro, once a symbol of the wealth and grandeur of the Indus Valley civilization, is slowly reducing to dust, and if it stands unattended for another few years, we might lose one of the most treasured assets of our nation’s historical legacy.

Mohenjo-Daro was constructed around 2600 BC and many experts believe that a considerable portion of it is still buried, about 65-70% of it. Mohenjo-Daro was discovered in 1922, much to the astonishment of European scientists who had downplayed the theory of ancient civilizations originating in South Asia for a long time.

Yesterday’s Best Preserved Ancient Settlement:

It was, at least when discovered, considered the best-preserved ancient settlement in the Indian Subcontinent. This 5000-year-old city stands as a testament to the great Indus Valley Civilization. The Civilization flourished on both sides of the Indus River across the vast Indus river plateau and beyond it.

At its peak, hundreds of cities flourished in the Indus Plateau, crammed with complex structures such as dams and aqueducts, inhabited by up to 40000 people. It is nothing less than thrilling to walk through 5000-year-old rooms that are still surprisingly discernible.

One is  amazed to walk through the splendid wide streets lined with precisely cut bricks baked thousands of years ago yet still astonishingly sturdy. A rare commodity in even modern villages of Pakistan, bathrooms existed in just about every dwelling, connecting to one of the most elaborate and complex ancient drainage systems, almost all of them underground. One can’t help but think how intelligent these people would’ve been, after all, we are talking of a time 5000 years ago.

As one walks through the city, fragments of brick can be seen scattered across the ruins and now one side of the wall of the city’s center, the Great Bath, a symbol of purity, is also dilapidating. Before long, this side of the bath will crumble, and would eventually weaken the most remarkable and marvelous structures of the ancient city.

Our Brave Ancestors: 

The thing that surprises many archaeologists is the ingenuity of the residents of this Bronze Age city, an attribute that perhaps allowed these ancient people to brave through the harsh conditions of Sindh and Indus Delta in general.

At a time when other civilizations struggled at producing weapons out of metal, the people of this civilization made sophisticated razors and scissors for every day use. The residents of Mohenjo-Daro planted wheat and barley. At a time when the concept of jewelry was limited to metals such as copper elsewhere,the people of this civilization encrusted gold and silver with precious stones.

The unusually advanced human ingenuity of these people still embezzles many. The extent of the development of this ancient civilization has made many experts to make the Indus valley civilization a contender for the title of “cradle of civilization”, rivaling the civilizations of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Egypt.

Incompetence of PPP Government to Preserve the Asset:

In 2011, the responsibility of the conservation of the ruins was laid at the shoulders of the Sindh government along with $ 10 Million worth of funds being donated by UNESCO for preservation. By this time, the salinity of the soil below had led to salt encrustation on the brickwork.

As a last resort to protect the already decaying brickwork, the decision of applying mud slurry on the decaying brickwork was made. It was a disaster. As soon as the mud dried, it crumbled and with it, the millenniums old bricks chipped off as well. The incompetency of the government to handle the issue could be comprehended by the fact that rather than preserving old bricks in some parts of the city, they were simply removed and newly baked bricks were placed to replace them.

A Fraction of Investment over Bhutto Family Tomb is Enough to Preserve MJD:

The city is a few miles away from Larkana, the stronghold of the current ruling party of Sindh, the PPP. In Larkana, a colossal tomb has been constructed over the graves of the Bhutto family that has become a rather insipid mockery of Mughal and Sindhi architecture. Only a fraction of the cost required to construct this monument to the Bhuttos is required to preserve Mohenjo-Daro.

Where is Benazir’s Ideology Lost?

The former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto in her autobiography, Daughter of East, fondly recalled her fascination with the city, “As a small child I thought the ancient city was called ‘Munj Jo Dero,’ which in Sindhi means ‘my place.’ My brothers, sister, and I took great pride that we had been raised in the shadow of Moenjodaro, that we lived on the bank of the Indus, which had been bringing life to the land since the beginning of time”.

Had she been alive today, perhaps she herself would’ve made sure that this essential part of her country’s heritage was preserved. It is absolutely horrible to see the PPP, which claims to be the flag-bearer of Miss Bhutto’s legacy, allowing what she considered a cultural and historical asset of Pakistan be left to ruin.

Precious Artifacts Stolen:

In 2004, 40 precious artifacts found in the city were stolen from a nearby museum and were never returned. An old man and once a farmer Ahmed Bashir recalls “Our parents used to tell us that when the foreigners excavated the city, many of the precious items made out of gold and silver were already stolen by the locals”.

Some of these stolen pieces still adorn the showcases of local landlords. At a time when our monuments and heritage sites face the ever-growing threat of terrorism, Mohenjo-Daro is no exception. Security arrangements at the site are next to nothing.

Not every country is blessed enough to be the inheritor of so rich a historical heritage and we ought to protest again the blind eye consecutive governments of Pakistan as well as the opposition parties have turned towards this issue.

As a 16-year-old, perhaps I’m too young to comprehend the political dimension to this, too young to understand why political parties hesitate to bring up this issue in all the numerous heated debates on a plethora of Pakistani news channels. Perhaps it is not politically rewarding, perhaps it is irrelevant, i don’t know.

Nevertheless, I do know that it is simply  painful for any true Pakistani to see Mohenjo-Daro, an asset of our nation, a city that once rivaled the great cities of civilizations of the likes of Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt losing its greatness, its glory, its beauty, in an utterly degrading manner.

The 16-year-old author, Bilal Akbar, an overseas Pakistani, was part of a recent campaign to raise funds for the cause of the preservation of Pakistan’s historical sites. He was also a youth representative at United Nations COP 18.

“All avenues need to be explored and every effort needs to be put in to tap in the alternative energy potential of the country,” the prime minister emphasised while speaking at a presentation given to him on solar energy resources in Pakistan and investment opportunities for a consortium of foreign and local companies. Nawaz expressed these views while speaking at a presentation given to him on solar energy resources in Pakistan and investment opportunities by a consortium of foreign and local companies.

The consortium showed confidence in the leadership of Nawaz Sharif and said that the pro-investor policies of the present government have attracted them towards investment opportunities in Pakistan. While addressing the meeting, the prime minister said that his government would go an extra mile to facilitate those companies and firms which transfer technology through their investments in the alternative energy sector in Pakistan.

The prime minister observed that Pakistan possesses huge potential of solar and wind energy and has a reservoir of coal and other fossil fuels to produce electricity which, if utilised optimally, would help improve people’s standards of living. Nawaz also took notice of non-provision of gas to thermal powerhouses and ordered that they be supplied the fuel on immediate basis and sought a report from the concerned authorities. It is noteworthy that electricity generation was affected due to the non-provision of gas to thermal powerhouses.

Nawaz Sharif will personally monitor the latest data on electricity, including availability and consumption. In this regard, the Ministry of Water and Power has installed equipment to provide latest data on electricity generation and its consumption at the Prime Minister’s Office in Islamabad. Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif has said that now the prime minister will personally monitor the latest electricity data and will issue directives in accordance with the situation. agencies

Kabul, Dec 22: WHEN the Taliban blasted the famous Bamiyan Buddhas with artillery and dynamite in March 2001, leaders of many faiths and countries denounced the destruction as an act of cultural terrorism. But today, with the encouragement of the American government, Chinese engineers are preparing a similar act of desecration in Afghanistan: the demolition of a vast complex of richly decorated ancient Buddhist monasteries.

The offense of this Afghan monument is not idolatry. Its sin is to sit atop one of the world’s largest copper deposits.

The copper at the Mes Aynak mine, just an hour’s drive south of Kabul, is to be extracted under a roughly $3 billion deal signed in 2007 between Afghanistan and China’s Metallurgical Group Corporation. The Afghan finance minister, Omar Zakhilwal, recently said the project could pump $300 million a year into government coffers by 2016. But the project has been plagued by rumors of corruption; there was widespread talk of a $30 million kickback involving the former minister of mines, who resigned.

In 2009, archaeologists were given a three-year deadline to salvage what they could at Mes Aynak, but raising money, securing equipment and finding experienced excavators took up more than half of that time. So the focus now is solely on rescuing objects. An international team of archaeologists is scrambling to save what it can before the end of this month, when it must vacate the central mining zone, at the heart of the Buddhist complex.

The task is herculean: more than 1,000 statues have been identified, along with innumerable wall paintings, fragile texts and rare wooden ornamentation. And the excavators can only guess at what may lie in older layers. There is no time to dig deeper.

From about the third century until the ninth century, Afghanistan served as a bridge between India and China and played a key role in shaping the Buddhism that swept across Central Asia. At Mes Aynak, monks and artisans built an astonishing array of temples, courtyards and stupas, as well as whole towns of workshops and homes for miners. (Even then, Mes Aynak was exploited for its copper.)

Afghanistan was home to an extraordinary mix of Nestorian Christians, Persian Zoroastrians, Hindus, Jews and, eventually, Muslims. New scholarship based on finds at ancient sites like Mes Aynak suggests that Islam arrived here not with sudden fire and sword, but as a slowly rising tide. This was an Afghanistan of cosmopolitan wealth and industry, and of religious innovation, devotion and tolerance, at a time when Europe was mired in the Dark Ages.

Many statues and paintings will be saved for museum exhibitions, but the potential for understanding a key piece of Afghan history — and for drawing future tourists — will soon be lost. Deborah Klimburg-Salter, a scholar of art and archaeology who recently visited the site, told me that Mes Aynak “would be of great historical value not only for the history of Afghanistan but the whole region — if they could slow down, excavate and document properly.”

It’s ironic: a company based in China, which received Buddhism via Afghanistan, will destroy a key locus of that transmission. Washington, which condemned the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas, is standing by as Kabul sacrifices its cultural heritage for short-term revenue.

The destruction is not just a cultural travesty. It may not even result in the advertised economic benefits for some time to come. World Bank experts told me that large-scale mining is not likely to take place at Mes Aynak for years. For one thing, there is no smelter to process the ore and no railroad to carry the material to China. An August rocket attack by Taliban militants on the mining camp prompted the Chinese workers to evacuate the heavily guarded site. The tenacious archaeologists, mostly Afghans, stayed behind.

There is still hope that the Afghan government might allow archaeologists to remain at the central complex past Dec. 31. “We’re hoping we get more time,” Philippe Marquis, the director of the French archaeological mission in Afghanistan and a lead scientist on the project, told me. There is no reason archaeology and mining operations can’t coexist at the site. But archaeologists fear the government wants to close the site to researchers and reporters to avoid embarrassing images of dynamited monasteries.

The looming deadline is not Mr. Marquis’s only worry. New Taliban attacks might prompt the Chinese to abandon the site and stop paying for the security forces that protect the area. That could invite looting by desperately poor Afghans. An ancient Buddhist statue can sell for tens of thousands of dollars in the dark, unregulated corners of the international art market.

Last month, Buddhist protesters marched in Bangkok, denouncing the planned demolition of Mes Aynak. An American filmmaker has raised $35,200 on Kickstarter to document the controversy. Afghanistan’s ambassador to Pakistan recently said it was “the duty of all” Afghans to preserve what remains of the country’s Buddhist heritage.

But there are few scholars with the political pull to bring the matter into the international spotlight, and the United Nations has all but ignored the matter. A Unesco official told me he hoped that “some accommodation could be made for the parallel activities of archaeology and mining,” but the organization hasn’t held the government and company accountable.

The looming devastation at Mes Aynak is but the latest example of threats to cultural treasures. Recently, the Egyptian Islamist leader Murgan Salem al-Gohary caused an international stir when he mused that the Sphinx and the pyramids at Giza should be flattened. And this summer, Islamist rebels smashed Sufi tombs in Timbuktu, Mali, an act some have called a war crime.

Whether for economic gain or ideological purity, destroying humanity’s common heritage limits our understanding of one another, as well as of our past — something we can ill afford in today’s fractious world. “We are only breaking stones,” the Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar said dismissively in 2001, when he heard the international outcry over the statues’ destruction. Even given Afghanistan’s dire financial plight, it’s not a position to accept, much less emulate.

Andrew Lawler is a freelance journalist and regular contributor to the magazines Science and Archaeology.