PESHAWAR: The Culture Heritage Council (CHC) has expressed concerns over possible threats to historical sites in Peshawar and demanded of Chief Minister Pervez Khattak to take personal interest to ensure preservation to the sites.

Talking to journalists here on Thursday, Culture Heritage Council president Shakeel Waheedullah Khan said that Town-I administration in Peshawar had decided to hand over at least 2,500 historical sites to Auqaf department. `It will endanger the heritage,` he added.

He said that the Culture Heritage Council in a recently held emergency meeting condemned the decision and warned to observe a sit-in at historical site Panj Teerath to resist the decision taken by Town-1 nazim Zahid Malik.

Mr Khan said that Panj Teerath was thousands of years old historical site that was replaced by Chacha Younas Park in Peshawar. He said that it was an attempt to destroy the site. `Now it is being given to Auqaf department,` he added.

The CHC president said that Peshawar was a 2,600 years old living city that had more heritages than other cities in the SubContinent. Unfortunately it was destroyed by unaware and incompetent successive provincial and local governments, he alleged.

Mr Khan said that provincial government was least bothered to preserve the historical gardens, graveyards, tombs and other sites. The government, he said, was ruining the parks by giving them to land grabbers.

The CHC president also demanded of National Accountability Bureau to interfere in the matter so that the historical sites could be saved and preserved. He said that Auqaf department would not be able to pay full attention to the sites.

`It is domain of archaeology department,` he added.

Mr Khan urged the provincial government to return the Panj Teerath site to Twon-1 within one week otherwise CHC would launch protest. `We will also form a jirga to meet the chief minister in this regard,` he added.