Decision 41 COM 7B.96

Fort and Shalamar Gardens in Lahore (Pakistan) (C 171)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/17/41.COM/7B.Add.2,
2. Recalling Decision 40 COM 7B.43, adopted at its 40th session (Istanbul/UNESCO, 2016),
3. Notes that the Reactive Monitoring mission will be invited immediately after the decision of the Honourable Supreme Court of Pakistan is announced;
4. Also notes that the State Party is undertaking measures to control and monitor urban encroachments and stresses upon the need to expedite this process as far as possible and requests the State Party to further improve the collaboration with related national and local authorities in implementation of the Management Plan;
5. Requests the State Party:
   1. to urgently complete and share with the World Heritage Centre the Visual Impact Study as decided by the World Heritage Committee at its 40th session as soon as possible, and at the latest on 1 December 2017;
   2. to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring Mission to the property immediately after the announcement of the decision of the Honourable Supreme Court of Pakistan, to examine the Orange Line Metro Train project and to discuss the same with the relevant Government authorities and to review the management and protection arrangements of the property;
6. Considers that the highest priority must be given to considering how the Shalamar Gardens and their spiritual associations can be sustained alongside any necessary measures to satisfy the needs of a growing city, by setting out the precise and detailed nature of the potential impacts of the Orange Line Metro project on the OUV of the property, and whether and how mitigation measures can be undertaken;
7. Reiterates the great need to adequately manage and effectively control encroachment and urban development in and around the property, and therefore further requests the State Party to immediately undertake setting studies and procedures in this regard, which will be taken into account when proposing an enlargement of the property’s buffer zone;
8. Notes the conservation work that has been undertaken at Lahore Fort and is in progress at the Shalamar Gardens, and requests furthermore the State Party to ensure that all such work is documented, together with any necessary archaeological inputs;
9. Finally requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2018, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 42nd session in 2018.