United States Chargé d’ Affaires Angela P. Aggeler along with US Consul General Lahore William K. Makaneole and other delegates visitied Wazir Khan Mosque and Chowk and highlighted the significance of Pakistan’s cultural heritage and the importance of joint United States-Pakistan efforts to restore and maintain historic sites.
While addressing, she said that through the Ambassador’s fund for cultural preservation, the United States supported preservation of a wide range of cultural heritage, including historic buildings, archaeological sites, and manuscripts. Since 2002, the Ambassador’s fund and the U.S. Mission in Pakistan have provided approximately $1.4 million (PKR 239 million) for the restoration of various sites around the Wazir Khan Mosque and chowk, she maintained.
She said that in its restoration efforts, the U.S. Mission in Pakistan worked closely with the Aga Khan Foundation-Pakistan, along with the Walled City of Lahore Authority. “Wazir Khan Mosque and Chowk symbolize the great cultural, historical, and religious heritage of the city of Lahore,” Chargé Aggeler added.
“We hope these projects will serve as an enduring sign of the respect, the United States has for Pakistan’s culture and its people,” she asserted.
The Chargé d’ Affaires said that restoration work supported by the Ambassador’s fund and the U.S. Mission has helped return the Chowk its original sub-terranean level, almost 2.5 meters below ground,restorations of eastern facade of the Chowk, the chowk “hujras” historic houses, and the well of Dina Nath.
