MULTAN, August 19th:Commissioner Multan Bilal Ahmed Butt has said that significance of Multan has further increased with the arrival CPEC project because it produces 70 to 80 percent of total cotton and our 65 percent exports depends upon the agricultural produce. He was delivering his speech at a function organised by Multan Chamber to mark the independence day celebrations under the title of " Is Parcham kay sai talay ham sab aik hain" It was attended by the sikhs, Hindus, Christians, Parsis and Muslims.Commissioner said that China-Pak Economic Corridor (CPEC) is the golden opportunity for the overall development of the region thus we should reorganise the agriculture sector to get a major share from $100 billion imports of agriculture produce by China.He said that cotton production would have to increase to 25 million bales which is stagnant to 12.6 bales to meet the demand of local textile industry.He stressed the need for encouraging the smal and medium enterprises(SMEs).He was optimistic that Multan would be the biggest trade centre in future. Foreign entrepreneurs were exploring markets and joint venture projects in this area.Foreign ambassdors were visiting southern Punjab frequently for investment in different fields. He said that significance and importance of Multan Chamber has also increased with the rapidly changing business scenario. Khawaja Jalaluddin Roomi President of Multan Chamber said that our programme had focussed on the freedom movement, heroes of the Pakistan Movement and the rich culture and traditions of Pakistan through performing arts. Besides depicting the culture and traditions of the country, such shows also educate the youth regarding the struggle of freedom fighters through soft expressions of art.He threw light on the achievements of Multan chamber regarding promotion of culture, literature and art in this zone and providing a platform to skilled people. A documentary on Indus civilisation was viewed by the audience which was highly appreciated by them. Multan civilisation is at least 8,000 years old, and not just 5,500 years old. It took root well before the Egyptian (7,000 BC to 3,000 BC) and Mesopotamian (6,500 BC to 3,100 BC) civilisations. What’s more, the researchers have found evidence of a pre-Harappan civilisation that existed for at least 1,000 years before this.The excavation also yielded large quantities of animal remains like bones, teeth, horn cores of cow, goat, deer and antelope.The Late Harappan phase witnessed large-scale de-urbanisation, drop in population, abandonment of established settlements, lack of basic amenities, violence and even the disappearance of the Harappan script, the researchers say.“We analysed the oxygen isotope composition in the bone and tooth phosphates of these remains to unravel the climate pattern. The oxygen isotope in mammal bones and teeth preserve the signature of ancient meteoric water and in turn the intensity of monsoon rainfall.A renowned scholar Aksi Mufti said that We all are Pakistanis .“We have recovered perhaps the oldest pottery from the civilisation. We used a technique called ‘optically stimulated luminescence’ to date pottery shards of the Early Mature Harappan time to nearly 6,000 years ago and the cultural levels of pre-Harappan Hakra phase as far back as 8,000 years,”Muhammad Ali Wasti, Mian Mughis'A Sheikh, Khawaja Muhammad Yousaf, Mian Farid Mughis,Mirza Ali Ahmed, Bakhtawar Tanvir Sheikh,Engr: Mumtaz Ahmed Khan also spoke.
