As the center of Islamic Civilization in 2013, Ghazni would become a tourist attraction and will head towards development and change.

In 2013 Ghazni will serve as the Asian capital of Islamic civilization. Ghazni was chosen by the ISESCO, the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization at a conference in Tripoli, Libya, in 2007, as part of an ongoing program to recognize Islamic cultural centers.

Ghazni, the ninth largest province in Afghanistan, lies 135 kilometers southeast of Kabul. It was the capital of the Ghaznaweyan Empire, which flourished from 923 to 1162, and was one of the most important cities in the Islamic world. Sultan Mahmood Ghaznawi, the emperor, had extended his domain from Ghazni to India, Central Asia and Persia, and formed a cultural center that spawned poets and scholars revered throughout the Islamic world.

Ghanzi is mentioned by the Greek scholar Ptolemy, who gave the ancient name of the province as “Ghazank” from a Persian and Sanskrit word meaning “treasure.”

But over the centuries, Ghazni has lost its central position. It is now a backward province with no water or sewer system, no electricity, limited transportation and a growing problem with the insurgency. According to the last reliable statistics, from the early 1990s, Ghazni has a population of approximately 600,000, a mix of Hazaras, Tajiks, and Pashtuns ethnics, with a small number of Hindu families.

Many are wondering whether it will be able to be a worthy center of Islamic civilization by 2013.

Poet and Author, Mohammad Azam Rahnaward Zaryab believes that Ghazni’s bright history deserves recognition.

“The nomination of Ghazni as a center of Islamic civilization will restore its reputation,” said Zaryab. “It will bring benefits to its residents if the government undertakes the major work necessary to reconstruct the province by 2013.”

But residents say that they, and their province, are being ignored by both Kabul and the local government. While officials make loud promises, little is actually being done to prepare Ghazni for its year as a center of Islamic civilization.

“I welcome the decision by the Islamic countries to make Ghazni the capital,” said Abdul Wali, a resident of Ghazni and a student in literature at Kabul University. “But neither the central government nor the local authorities have made any visible efforts at reconstruction. The ancient monuments are not being restored and many artifacts are being stolen and trafficked by smugglers.”

Other residents also spoke out about the theft of ancient artifacts and the destruction of monuments. According to numerous observers, powerful people are building homes in historical areas, causing damage to priceless relics of the old civilization.

Raz Mohammad Stoman, the acting head of the Department of Information and Culture in Ghazni said that he shared concerns over the trafficking of artifacts. However, he denied that people were allowed to build homes among ancient monuments.

But Deputy Governor Mohammad Kazem Allah Yar rejected any hint that artifacts were being trafficked, and confirmed Stoman’s assertion that houses were not being built in historical areas. He insisted that many of Ghanzi’s monuments had been repaired, and that the remaining sites, totaling more than 1000, will be ready for the festival of Islamic civilization in 2013.

“We will undertake considerable work in Ghazni before 2013,” he said, but did not give any details. The deputy governor asked that the residents of the province cooperate with the government to safeguard the monuments, adding that the ancient sites must be protected.

Hakimullah Ghazniwal, the mayor of Ghazni city, called on all of Afghanistan’s citizens to help the government maintain the country’s historic sites. He appealed to the residents of the province to donate any books they might have on Ghazni’s history to the library.

He added that the Ministry of Urban Development, the Ministry of Information and Culture, as well as the Ghazni governor’s office and the municipal authorities were planning on a series of projects to make Ghazni ready to receive the guests that are expected during the province’s year as a center of Islamic civilization.

“We have already begun building an airport,” said Hakimullah. “We will also build a center of Islamic culture in Ghazni city. We want the central museum in Kabul to return some of our ancient treasures to us.”

The head of the administrative division of the Ghazni Department of Information and Culture, Aga Mohammad Khojazada, said that the ministry in Kabul had made a serious commitment to protecting Ghazni’s monuments over the past year.

But residents say that nothing has happened except for a trip by a delegation from Kabul, who came to Ghazni to examine the situation.

Yousuf Pashtun, the Minister of Urban Development along with a number of parliamentarians from Ghazni visited the province and  announced a number of development projects costing 200 million US dollars, among which were a new urban design, an airport, a five-star hotel, parks, playgrounds and the reconstruction of several tombs of poets and scholars.

According to journalist Asadullah Jalalzai, it will be impossible to implement these projects due to the security situation in the province.

Engineer Mohammad Kaber, a member of Ghazni’s Provincial Council, is also concerned about insecurity in the province. He pointed to one project, the paving of a road between Ghazni city to Andar district, which was supposed to be completed in eight months; due to the security situation, it took more than three years. The Taliban attacked and killed road crews, he added, which delayed the work.

 But Ghazni police chief General Khilbaz Shirzai dismissed reports of insecurity in the province, saying that only one district, Nawa, had experienced problems.

 “I guarantee that the police can provide secure condition for the implementation of all projects,” he said, “Getting Nawa back on track is at the top of our agenda.”

Mohammad Zia Afshar, the  Deputy Minister of Information and Culture, said that his ministry plans to implement 42 projects in Ghazni over the next two years, including the maintenance and repair of historical monuments.

 “These projects will show the world that Ghazni was a great empire at one time,” said Afshar. “They will bring people to Ghazni and create job opportunities for the residents of the province. The people will benefit a lot from these projects.”