The Senate Functional Committee on Devolution on Monday highlighted the deteriorating conditions of the belongings of the Quaid-e-Azam and recommended that the Ministry of National Heritage and Culture Division should engage the competent curators for the preservation of museums, as they hold immense value for the nation.

The Committee met here with the Senator Zarqa Suharwardhy Taimur in the chair. The Committee was briefed on the performance of Ministry of National Heritage and Culture Division during the last two Financial Year along with the details of employees and budgetary allocation.

Secretary for National Heritage and Culture Division, Hassan Jami, briefed that National Heritage Division was created after the 18th Amendment and it was moved from time to time between Information and Broadcasting and Federal Education Ministry.

The Division consists of seven autonomous bodies including the National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage of Pakistan (Lok Virsa), Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA), and three attached departments.

The Committee was briefed on the performance of each department alongside their achievements during the last two years and the difficulties confronted by the developments.

While discussing the performance of Pakistan Academy of Letters, the Committee recommended that the stipends for deserving writers should be increased as well as other initiatives to support the young writers of Pakistan.

Secretary for National Heritage revealed that Pakistan has failed to include any historical site in “World Heritage List” since the last 27 years and the ministry is working to include some of the historic sites including “Hiran Minar” and “Bhambore” in the list, however, the lack of human resource remain a real impediment to the task.

In attendance were Senators Zamir Hussain Ghumro, Poonjo Bheel, Saeed Ahmed Hashmi, Secretary for National Heritage and Culture Division Hassan Jami along with other senior officials of relevant departments.