Sindh’s Directorate General of Antiquities issued a show-cause notice to the Makli necropolis administration after Sindh’s caretaker tourism minister, Arshad Wali Muhammad, was reported to have broken the door lock of a tomb.

Director General Antiquities and Archaeology Manzoor Ahmed Kanasro issued the notice to the management of the necropolis over their absence and failure to take appropriate action.

He stated that the staff of the tomb was found absent and the door was locked while the keys to the monuments were not available, due to which the padlock of the door had to be broken.

On September 6, Muhammad visited the necropolis when he found the shrine of Nawab Dulha Darya Khan locked, upon which the minister issued orders to break open the padlock of the door without waiting for the management to arrive and open it.

The authorities said that the Makli necropolis or graveyard is closed to the public after 5pm in the afternoon. Any damage to heritage sites is a criminal offence under the law, they added.

After Aaj News reported the incident on Thursday, the authorities compiled a report regarding the incident which was sent to the caretaker chief minister of Sindh.

UNESCO declared the Makli necropolis a World Heritage Site in 1981. The vast necropolis of Makli is among the largest in the world.

Kings, queens, governors, saints, scholars, and philosophers are buried in brick or stone monuments, some of which are lavishly decorated with glazed tiles.

Among the outstanding monuments constructed in stone are the tombs of Jam Nizamuddin II, who reigned from 1461 to 1509, and of lsa Khan Tarkhan the Younger and of his father, Jan Baba, both of whose mausolea were constructed before 1644. The most colourful is that of Diwan Shurfa Khan.