Following the recent deadly floods in Ghor province, a number of civil activists of this province expressed concern about the destruction and collapse of the Jam minaret and demanded that the authorities pay attention to this ancient minaret.

Photo: Social Media

Following the recent deadly floods in Ghor province, the local officials of the Taliban group confirmed to the reporter of Peace Window that the recent floods have threatened the destruction and collapse of Jam Minar and added that they have sent a team to the area to investigate.

Abdul Hai Zaeem, the head of information and culture of the Taliban group in Ghor province, said today (Thursday, 23 May) in a conversation with Peace Window reporter that the floods of the last few days have blocked the paths of the Hariroud and Jam rivers and the water has reached the foot of the minaret from both sides.

Mr. Zaeem added that the flood has reached two meters of the minaret in the last few days and the water has penetrated inside this building and a team has been sent to the area to investigate the damage caused to the Jam minaret.

However, on Wednesday (22 May) in a press conference entitled “Voices of Flood Victims of Ghor Province” in Kabul, Ahmad Wali Kasseh, a civil activist of Ghor province, said that following the recent floods in this province, Jam minaret is one of the oldest. The ancient heritage of this province is also facing the danger of collapse.

Mr. Satseh added that the floods caused by the heavy rains on Friday and Saturday last week caused the surroundings of this historic minaret to be completely submerged and now the flood is directly hitting the walls of this minaret.

He requested the international institutions, especially the UNESCO organization and the central government, to preserve the Jam minaret as soon as possible and prevent the increase of threats and the risk of its collapse.

This civil activist of Ghor province emphasized that the Taliban group and international organizations should take the necessary measures so that the Minar Jam, which has a great historical heritage, is not destroyed; Because this minaret is the only historical and cultural asset of Ghor province and all the people of Afghanistan.

In the pictures published on social networks, it can be seen that the surroundings of the Jam minaret are surrounded by floods and the retaining walls around this minaret have been destroyed, and according to the latest published pictures, the flood around the Jam minaret has released.

Jam minaret is located in Shahrak Ghor district in a valley called Jam at the junction of Jam and Harirud rivers and this minaret is known as one of the tallest clay minaret in the world.

This minaret was built at a height of 65 meters during the reign of Sultan Ghiyasuddin Ghori, one of the kings of the Ghori civilization.

In 2002, Minaret Jam was registered in the list of World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO; But it is said that no attention has been paid to this historical building in this decade and there has always been concern about its collapse.

In 2018, when this historical minaret was threatened by flood, the then government of Afghanistan announced that serious work was underway to save the ancient monument of Jam Minar, but did not explain what exactly measures had been taken to prevent its destruction.

After coming to power in August 2021, the Taliban announced that they will work to protect and restore Jam Minar; But three years have passed since these promises and no serious measures have been taken yet.

The civil activists of Ghor province emphasized that the recent floods have destroyed the communication routes and made it difficult to deliver aid and asked the caretaker government of Afghanistan to pay attention to the opening of the communication routes so that the aid reaches the people in time.

In this regard, last solar year, several earthquakes in Herat province damaged parts of Herat Mosque, Akhtar al-Din Fort, minarets and some other historical places of this province.

The researchers of the Center for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of the University of Chicago, USA, in their report in Pisces last year, said that with the help of satellite images and other tools, they have identified more than 29 thousand ancient sites throughout Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, the floods in Baghlan, Takhar, Badakhshan, Samangan, Faryab, Sarpol, Herat, Badghis, Ghor, Daikundi and Kandahar provinces have claimed the lives of dozens of people and caused huge financial damage to the residents of these provinces.