In the memory of Muhammad Ishtiaq Khan

Abstract

Mr. Muhammad Ishtiaq khan, a well-known archaeologist passed away on Sunday, October 12, 2008 and was buried at Defense Housing Authority (DHA) graveyard, Lahore on the next day. Mr. Ishtiaq Khan died at the age of 74 who had been suffering from cancer for a long time.
He was born in May 1934 at Jhajjar, near Delhi in India. After getting his early education, he took his Master of Arts degree from the University of the Punjab in 1956. Soon after, he was selected as university research scholar in the same institute and thus started his research activities. Being an archaeologist of a good caliber, Mr. Khan wrote dozens of research papers on various aspects of Pakistan archaeology in journals of national and international repute.
lshtiaq Khan joined the Department of Archaeology and Museums, Government of Pakistan as custodian (curator) in 1957; rose to the position of the Director General and retired as UNESCO's Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia and Pacific in 1994. He received formal training in the field of South Asian archaeology under the guidance of Sir Mortimer Wheeler, an eminent archaeologist and the first Director General of Pakistan Archaeology. As a UNESCO fellow, Ishtiaq Khan also studied museology at the Harvard University, U.S.A.
Spanning a long career of about 37 years in the Department of Archaeology and Museums, Government of Pakistan, he served on various positions such as the custodian/curator of Archaeological Museums at Moenjodaro, Taxila and Harappa; superintendent (Director) of archaeology, west Pakistan Circle Lahore and the Director General.
He remained a fellow and member of numerous national and international organizations and societies and held various offices such as the chairman Pakistan National Committee for the International Council of Museums (ICOM), member of the Executive council, International Centre for the Study of Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property, Rome (ICCROM), member of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society, London, fellow of the Societs Asiatique Paris; member of the International Consultative Committee for the Preservation of Moenjodaro and chief technical adviser, working group of UNESCO's International Campaign for the Preservation of Hue, Vietnam. Ishtiaq Khan remained as a member on the board of governors of many cultural organizations such as Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA), National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage (NIFTH), Authority for the Preservation of Moenjodaro (APM) and Lahore Museum, Lahore.
Besides, Ishtiaq Khan had also been honoured with several medals and distinctions by different international institutions and governments, which includes the awards of the 'Man of the Year' by the American Biographical Institute, USA; the medal of International Order of Merit (IOM) by the International Biographical Center, Cambridge, UK; the medal of Van Hoa Quan Chung by the Government of Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Medal of Cavaliere in the Order of Merit of the Italian republic.
In addition to this brief account of his achievements, Mr. Ishtiaq Khan was a simple, dedicated, honest and a thorough gentleman who devoted most part of his life to the promotion of Pakistan Archaeology and will always be remembered.