ISLAMABAD: The outgoing US ambassador to Pakistan, David Hale, met with Prime Minister Imran Khan, Army Chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday.
Qureshi underscored the importance of longstanding relations with the US and said he looks forward to welcoming Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Islamabad, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Pompeo is scheduled to visit Islamabad in the first week of September to meet with Khan.
Qureshi told Hale “that his interactions with the US leadership would be based on honesty and sincerity so as to develop a sustained partnership in the interest of both countries,” the statement said.
He thanked Hale for his services in Pakistan and congratulated him on in his next assignment as undersecretary for political affairs at the State Department.
“Ambassador Hale thanked the Foreign Minister and said that there was great interest in the Prime Minister’s reform agenda in the United States, a readiness to turn the page, and this was the objective of Secretary Pompeo’s visit to Pakistan,” the statement said.
“Ambassador Hale acknowledged (the) Foreign Minister’s role in shepherding bilateral relations in his earlier tenure and thanked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the cordiality and cooperation extended to him during his assignment in Pakistan.”
Bajwa thanked Hale for his services in Pakistan and acknowledged his contributions toward bilateral relations, said the Pakistani military’s media wing, adding that Hale thanked Bajwa for the Pakistani Army’s contributions to regional peace and stability.
Outgoing US envoy meets with PM, FM, army chief
Outgoing US envoy meets with PM, FM, army chief
- Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi underscored the importance of longstanding relations with the US and said he looks forward to welcoming Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Islamabad
- Pompeo is scheduled to visit Islamabad in the first week of September to meet with Khan
UNESCO lists Pakistan’s ancient Bareendo instrument as endangered cultural heritage
- 5,000-year-old Sindhi clay wind instrument placed on UNESCO urgent safeguarding list
- Only two known practitioners remain as Pakistan launches four-year preservation plan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s 5,000-year-old folk instrument Bareendo has been added to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list for urgent safeguarding, the UN agency said this week, placing it among cultural traditions considered at immediate risk of disappearing.
Believed to originate in the ancient Indus Valley Civilization, the clay wind instrument is the oldest known surviving musical form in the southern Sindh province. Its soft, breath-driven tones have accompanied Sufi devotional gatherings, winter festivals and village ceremonies for generations, forming a core part of Sindh’s musical and spiritual identity.
The inscription was approved at the 20th Session of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee for Intangible Cultural Heritage, which documents vulnerable cultural practices globally, from oral folklore to craftsmanship, to ensure they are preserved and passed on.
UNESCO announced the listing on X on Tuesday:
“New inscription on the Urgent Safeguarding List of Intangible Heritage: Boreendo, Bhorindo: ancient dying folk musical instrument, its melodies, knowledge, and skills.”
Pakistan’s Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, Ambassador Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, welcomed the move, calling it the recognition of a tradition preserved through centuries of community transmission.
“Bareendo is not only an emblem of the Indus Valley’s cultural continuity but also a living expression of Sindh’s artistic and spiritual heritage,” she was quoted as saying by Pakistan’s Embassy in France.
“This recognition by UNESCO reaffirms Pakistan’s commitment to the protection and promotion of our diverse cultural traditions.”
Only two people are believed to retain full mastery of Bareendo today, musician Ustaad Faqeer Zulfiqar and master potter Allah Jurio, underscoring why the nomination was marked urgent, the embassy said.
The nomination followed an intensive consultation process between the Sindh government, Pakistan’s Mission to UNESCO and UNESCO headquarters in Keti Mir Muhammad Loond village and led to a four-year safeguarding strategy (2026–2029). Planned measures include a community music school, integration into formal and informal education and digital archiving to open access beyond Sindh’s rural belt.
With this recognition, Bareendo joins existing UNESCO-listed intangible traditions like Suri Jagek (the astronomical knowledge of the Kalash people), Falconry, and Nowruz, the regional spring new year.
