Japanese Ambassador to Pakistan Matsuda Kuninori on Wednesday visited a Buddhist historical site, known as Shah Allah Ditta Caves, in the outskirts of Islamabad. Internationally known as Buddhist caves in the Margalla Hills, the historical site is preserving around 2,400-year-old Buddhist era murals.
As per reports, the ambassador along with his wife and staff of the embassy praised the grandeur of the antique caves which date back to the times when young Buddhists covered long distances to reach this region that expands from the Margalla Hills to Taxila, Swat and beyond.
The Buddhist monks spent time here in meditation and spread the message of Buddha on to the followers.
Read more – Pakistan’s first tourism TV channel goes live
Former Deputy Mayor of Islamabad and a representative of the Shah Allah Ditta community, Syed Zeshan Naqvi, welcomed the ambassador and told him that the caves date back to the times of Alexander the Great. He also pointed out issues faced by the local government of Islamabad (that completed its term earlier in February this year) in the preservation of the site.
The caves had different engravings of Buddha on its walls that are of great historical importance.
The ambassador was also of the opinion that the caves have a huge tourism potential and can be used to showcase the footprints of the Buddhist civilisation in Pakistan.
Ambassador Kuninori also spent a few moments in meditation under the old Banyan tree at the site.
Sharing his thoughts during the visit, Ambassador Kuninori said Pakistan was a safe country and appreciated the way the government had fought the COVID-19 pandemic by implementing a smart lockdown. Japan, he said, had already eased travel restrictions on Pakistan.
