THE demolition of the 18th-century Mir Offices inside Hyderabad`s Pucca Fort, a structure of immense historic, architectural and symbolic value, is a crime committed by the very institutions that were tasked with preserving the past.

These chambers, which were once used by the Talpur Mirs for governance and treasury purposes, were protected under the Antiquities Act of 1975, and were intended to be repurposed as a museum.

Instead, they were demolished under verbal directives from officials within the Culture, Tourism and Antiquities Department of the Sindh government.

To compound this tragedy, the main gate of Pucca Fort, an original feature from the Kalhora dynasty, was also replaced, and its historic materials were auctioned off like scrap.

This was not an isolated incident. The unlawful razing of two heritage buildings in KarachiKatrak Chambers (also known as Cowasjee Building) and the Kanji Building further confirmed a systemic pattern of neglect, collusion and destruction.

Both these buildings were protected under the Sindh Cultural Heritage (Preservation) Act, 1994, and carried immense architectural and historical significance. Yet, they were quietly torn down under circumstances that suggested regulatory apathy, profiteering and possibly institutional complicity.

As a retired archaeologist and a lifelong witness to the degradation of Sindh`s material heritage, I feel the pain. These were not just buildings they were chapters of our collective memory.

Their erasureis abetrayalby those tasked with safeguarding culture, and a violation ofnationaland international heritage laws.

The government should launch formal investigations, suspend all responsible officials, blacklist the private contractors involved, and prosecute the parties under the relevant heritage protection laws.

When nations fail to protect the remnants of their past glory, they naturally forfeit their claim to cultural identity.

Irshad Ali Rind Khairpur Mirs