Historic Fort Under Threat

Helmand is famous for its historical “qalas” or forts, of which there are more than 40. One of the most famous is Bost Qala, the stronghold of King Nau Sherwan Adel. But now it’s being destroyed to make room for an expanded police training facility.



Ilyas Daee reports:



This is Bost Qala. It has many high walls, although many have been eroded by rain. The area in which I’m standing was an imperial prison hundreds of years ago. But now a bulldozer is biting into the walls like a ferocious dragon. These walls appear in many Afghan history books as a symbol of the country’s ancient history. But now they are about to disappear forever.



Recently, parts of Bost Qala have been demolished, apparently because police headquarters wants to build an additional wing there. I’m standing here with other people watching this destruction. All of them believe we are losing monuments left by our ancestors. Some people think it is the government authorities who are destroying the relics.



The head of Helmand’s culture and youth department, Jan Gul, says this is not a new issue - these areas have been excavated and destroyed over a long period. The process has accelerated now that the authorities are build an ancillary unit for the police.



“Unfortunately, I have to state that the Helmand police department, the protective force for the province, has begun demolishing the historic prison from the Ghaznavid period,” he says. “I have raised my voice from the moment the destruction began, when they were laying the foundations for this unit. But no one has prevented it. I’ve done my duty before God and the people. I’ve made suggestions to the governor and have told him that this is not good. It’s their fault for not preventing it.”



When I approached the chief of police of Helmand, Hussein Andiwal, and asked him about the destruction of this historic site, he told me he didn’t have time to do an interview.



Jan Gul says a survey of the area was carried out by ISAF [International Security Assistance Force] and the Helmand police. The foreign forces do not care about the historic remains in Helmand province, and the local population are upset about this, because these foreign forces are working in cooperation with Afghan forces.



Right now, a bulldozer is destroying the area. Maywand is one of the people watching the scene. Looking horrified, he says, “Our government is under pressure from the foreigners. It’s their government, not ours. They are destroying our historic remains, and if our government was not weak, it wouldn’t be happening.”



Colonel Charlie Mayo, spokesman for the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Helmand, says he has no information about the destruction of historic sites in Helmand. And when I tell him that culture and youth department chief Jan Gul said that ISAF forces had surveyed the area before the building began, he says, “They may not be from the PRT. They may be from other organisations. We are talking to General Andiwal, but we have very little information about it, and it isn’t a project the PRT is involved in.”



Although this issue is so damaging for the nation, when we called various ISAF units, they insisted they were not involved and had no information. They did promise to investigate the matter.



As I was interviewing Colonel Mayo, an ISAF soldier in a grey uniform said that historic sites are not our nation’s or anyone else’s, but an international concern. He added, “The destruction of historical sites, whether in Helmand or Britain, should always be avoided.”



Although many international and local NGOs have complained about this case, no one is listening. That means people don’t have ears to hear the voice of Bost Qala.



Ilyas Daee, for IWPR in Bost Qala.