LARKANA - A three-day International Conference on Mohen jo Daro is all set to kick off from 9 to 11 Feb at Mohen jo Daro Larkana. Sindh government Archaeology Department has organised the conference, which is expected to be attended by a large number of national and international delegates. Different aspects of the Indus Valley Civilization as well as conservation of ancient sites will be discussed at the event.

According to the authorities, scholars from USA, Japan, Italy, Spain, France, Britain, including Ayumu Konasukawa from Japan, Denys Frenz from Italy, Dr Carla and Dr Marco from Spain, Brad Chase and Dr Richard Meadow from USA have already arrived.

The delegates also visited the National Museum, and took keen interest in particular galleries showcasing the Indus Valley and Gandhara Civilization. 

The Culture Department Government of Sindh and National Fund for Mohen jo Daro (NFM) are hosting the conference, and it is expected that many of the conference recommendations will go a long way in resolving the pending issues. In this regard, all the arrangements have been finalized.

This kind of event was first held in 1973, and was addressed by the then President Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.

The conference on Mohen jo daro is an effort to bring together scholars from different countries to discuss and recommend diverse academic questions as well as propose measures for the conservation of the Indus Valley from further deterioration.

This conference would be a unique event at which the experts will discuss archeology, ecology, geology, history, regional linkages, technology, urbanism and its history in Mohen jo Daro and other themes, particularly the emerging Middle East linkages to the Indus Valley civilization.

However, the Convener of the Conference Dr. Kaleemullah Lashari has said that the Indus Valley Civilization has received a good amount of academic attention; there is no doubt that the institutions, where work relevant to South Asia is undertaken, have been instrumental in putting in place projects leading to extensive studies on the Neolithic and Bronze Age sites throughout the region, spreading over to India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and areas in the Persian Gulf.

He said that the conference will discuss new research, find out means of enlarging scope of academic studies, forge new collaborations, consider the age-old question of preservation of archaeological ruins exposed to the natural and manmade reasons, and above all the presentation of the Bronze-age sites.