The Humanistic Buddhism Research Centre at Quaid-i-Azam University and the Silk Road Centre in Islamabad have expressed happiness at the “overwhelming response to our call for research abstracts” for the Third International Conference on the Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan, which will be held in Islamabad from 27–31 March 2026.*
The director of the Humanistic Buddhism Research Centre, Prof. Ghani ur Rahman gave voice to his enthusiasm: “This year, we were overwhelmed by the remarkable response from local and international scholars. The growing interest in research on Gandhara and the Buddhist heritage of Pakistan is highly encouraging. When we first envisioned this conference with the Silk Road Centre in 2021, we were optimistic about scholarly engagement, and that optimism has gradually been affirmed.”
The theme for the Third International Conference on the Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan is “Exploring the Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan through Multidisciplinary Research.” The forum will offer unique opportunities to learn from respected scholars and teachers through engaging dialogues, panel sessions with Q&As, and moderated discussions. The two-day event, to be held alongside the Gandhara Culture and Tourism Festival, will also offer flexible itineraries for field trips to key Buddhist heritage sites and museums in Mardan, Peshawar, Swat, and Taxila from 27–31 March.
The forum is jointly organized by the Humanistic Buddhism Research Centres at Quaid-i-Azam University (Pakistan) and Universiti Malaya (Malaysia), the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Directorate General of Archaeology and Museums, and the Silk Road Centre.
“The Academic Committee of the Third International Conference on the Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan has completed its review of submitted research abstracts and finalized the selection of over 40 international and 25 Pakistani scholars who are being invited to present their research at the conference,” conference spokesperson and Silk Road Centre executive director Dr. Ijlal Hussain told BDG.
The convocation is to be held in collaboration with the Fo Guang Shan Education Centre, Pakistan Tourism Development Corp., Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Directorate General of Archaeology and Museums, Green Tourism and IDot Cool.
Dr. Hussain added that while the window for abstract submissions had closed, participant registration for the conference remained open. He urged interested participants to register by visiting this link.
The chair of the Conference Organizing Committee, Ven. You Deng, noted that the Humanistic Buddhism Research Centres in Malaysia and Pakistan were contributing to the development of knowledge on Gandhara by engaging scholars alongside Pakistani academia and civil society.
“At the 2026 conference, international and Pakistani scholars will come together to share research on a wide range of topics related to Pakistan’s Buddhist heritage, which dates back to the reign of Emperor Ashoka in the third century BCE,” Ven. You Deng stated. “The conference aims to generate knowledge and understanding of this shared heritage.”
“Pakistan is a holy land for millions of Buddhist devotees around the world. It is the cradle of the famous Gandhara Buddhist art and iconography. It is the birthplace of renowned Buddhist philosophers and spiritual masters such as Asanga, Vasubandhu, Guru Rinpoche, and the monk Marananta,” the conference organizers affirmed. “Gandhara of Pakistan is home to the ancient and highly sacred Buddhist stupas and monasteries in Taxila Valley, Mardan, Swabi, Swat and many other parts of Pakistan. Buddhist manuscripts discovered in Gandhara dating to the second century CE are the oldest surviving collection of Buddhist texts in the world. As a holy land of Buddhism, Pakistan houses the Buddhist heritage of unmatched significance for devotees, scholars and students of Buddhism to explore.”
Buddhism has played a significant role in shaping the history and culture of what is now Pakistan and Afghanistan, flourishing in the kingdoms that lay on the Silk Road trade routes with Central Asia. The conquests of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka (r. c. 268–c. 232 BCE) and the subsequent Greco-Buddhist culture—which blossomed under the Gandhara kingdom that emerged in what is today northwestern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan from around 800 BCE to 500 CE—saw Buddhism establish deep roots that lasted for more than 12 centuries.
A wealth of ancient Buddhist stupas, monasteries, images of the Buddha, and other artifacts attest to this ancient and deeply rooted heritage. Ashoka’s territorial expansions, coupled with Greek influences in the mid-to-late fourth century BCE led to a unique cultural melting pot that saw the first known Buddhist statuary emerge in Gandhara—considered by many to represent the pinnacle of Buddhist art.
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