Without a Heritage-sensitive Plan, Can Gwadar Save Its Historic Architecture?
The article examines the precarious state of Gwadar's historic Shahi Bazar district in Pakistan, highlighting recent conservation efforts by the Gwadar Development Authority (GDA) under an Old Town Rehabilitation Plan. Despite work on landmark buildings like Omani Forts and the British rest house, the piece questions whether these measures are sufficient to preserve the area's centuries-old cultural heritage, memory, and identity. It notes the absence of a clear, public heritage-sensitive master plan and discusses relevant legal frameworks, including the Federal Antiquities Act 1975 and Balochistan Antiquities Act 2014, as well as the lack of new UNESCO listings since 1997. The article draws on historical accounts by Baloch writer Syed Zahoor Shah Hashmi to underscore the district's lost vibrancy and the threat to sites like his abandoned home, which could serve as a literary museum.
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