India will fund the restoration of the historic fort in Kabul

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Information and Culture has signed a new memorandum of understanding with the Aga Khan Foundation on the restoration of a historic fort in Kabul and the establishment of an archaeological park in the area.

Earlier, the Presidential Palace of Afghanistan announced that India and the Aga Khan Foundation have signed a memorandum of understanding for the reconstruction of the historic Kabul Fort. The reconstruction of the 1500-year-old Bala Hisar Fort has recently begun, for which the Government of India has paid for the Aga Khan Foundation.

The historic Bala Hisar area in old Kabul has been a military base for many years and has been severely damaged in the civil war. Until 2014, the fort belonged to the Afghan Ministry of Defense and a military unit was based here.

Some archaeologists say that pre-Islamic Buddhists lived at the site, but according to Afghan historical sources, the main fort of Bala Hisar later saw bloody clashes and was used as an important military base. .

The fort was also a command post during the First Afghan–British War (1839–1842) and the Second Anglo–Afghan War (1879–1880). It later became the army headquarters during the Soviet era.

According to the new memorandum, the Cultural Services Department of the Aga Khan Foundation will repair and strengthen the fort walls and buildings, as well as construct an archaeological and recreational park here.

The head of the Ministry of Culture, Muhammad Tahir Zaheer, who signed the memorandum, said the fort was the seat of power of most of the kings and had historical significance. He said that for 20 years this fort was the center of power of Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur.

The Aga Khan Foundation has been renovating historic buildings in Afghanistan for many years. The foundation’s head of cultural services, Ajmal Mewndi, says that reconstruction work on the country’s monuments began in 2002 and is still ongoing.

Other projects include Chelston Garden, Alamganj Garden, Fifth Minar of Herat, Old City of Kabul, Nau Gonabad Mosque in Balkh, Fort of Herat and many others.

When asked why the fort has not been built yet, Deputy Minister of Culture of Afghanistan’s Ministry of Information and Culture, Mossadegh Khalili, said that due to the high strategic position of the fort and the security situation in Kabul, the security authorities have ordered military equipment. Respite was sought to transfer to another location.

He further said that now there is no obstacle to start the reconstruction of this historical fort. According to Khalili, apart from Bala Hisar, 1,200 other historical sites in Afghanistan are at risk of destruction.

He says that the government does not have enough funds and facilities to protect the building. He, however, hoped that President Ashraf Ghani would resolve the issue.

Apart from Kabul, there is also an ancient fort called Qila Bala Hisar in the city of Peshawar across the border in Pakistan.