A 1300- year old Hindu temple dedicated to Bhagwan Sri Vishnu was unearthed in the Swat district of Eastern Pakistan in an excavation carried out by Pakistani and Italian archaeologists. As per a report in Organiser Weekly, the Italian archaeologist Dr Luka Maria Olivieri, who heads the Italian archaeological mission, stated that this was the first temple of Gandhara civilisation was discovered in Swat. Experts believe that the temple was constructed during the period of Hindu Shahis or Kabul Shahis who ruled eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan and North-Western India from 850 C.E to 1026 C.E.
Fazle Khaliq of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa archaeological department, while announcing the discovery on November 19 confirmed that the temple was dedicated to God Vishnu and constructed during Hindu Shahi regime.
During the excavation, archaeologists found a cantonment and watchtowers near the temple site. Also, they found a water tank which they believe was used by the Hindus to bath before entering the temple sanctum. Another ancient temple constructed in 7th-century C.E by the Turk Shahis was discovered from the same region by the archaeologists in 2019.
There have been deliberate attempts by the establishments of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to hide the nation’s Hindu heritage. Many of the ancient temples were destroyed and left to ruins. The government’s decision to give Hindus land in Islamabad to construct a Krishna temple had drawn ire from the Islamists. There are serious doubts whether the discovered temple complex at Swat is preserved by the state or Pakistan’s ‘Hinduphobic’ administration will erase this archaeological finding too, says the Organiser report.
Archaeological Importance of Swat region
Swat district is home to thousands of years old archaeology sites and the traces of the Hindu Shahi period have been found for the first time in the area. In the same Swat valley in the past, the archaeologists have discovered traces of Hindu temples, coins, stupa, pots and weapons of that period. Head of the Italian excavators, Dr Luka also confirmed the discovery of the first temple of the Gandhara Civilization in the Swat district.
Last year in October, the archaeologists and historians discovered another temple Turki Shahi period temple, built in the 7th century, on the top of Ghwandai mount at Bazira in Barikot Swat. This discovery was regarded immensely important for connoisseurs of history, archaeology and cultural heritage. The temple was discovered by the Italian Archaeological Mission in Pakistan in collaboration with the provincial directorate of archaeology and local students.
Patron-in-Chief of the Faith Tourism International and a Hindu community leader in the KP, Haroon Sarab Diyal while speaking to Gulf News said that the discovery of the 1,300 year old temple as a milestone in the cultural and the historical record of the province. In the entire Swat Valley you would find traces of the ancient Buddha and the Hindu civilizations and the whole region used to be considered the centre of learning and wisdom. People from Burma (Myanmar) to Afghanistan used to come here for the sake of knowledge, he said.
Aayush Pal 
Dr. Niranjan B Poojar 
Bhagyashree Gupta