A delegation of Sri Lankan Buddhist Monks visited Ashoka's Rock Edict at Shahbazgarhi in Mardan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Friday.

Ashoka was a well-known Mauryan Emperor of South Asia, who succeeded to the throne in about 274 B.C.

The set of fourteen edicts at Shahbaz Garhi is written in local Kharoshti script and inscribed on two rocks.

The name of the language used in these inscriptions is known as Gandhari Prakrit.

Ashoka's edicts are a unique proclamation of moral principles and religious toleration and they emphasize on the sanctity of both human and animal life.

The delegation of Sri Lankan Buddhist Monks also visited the Buddhist ruins of Jamal Garhi in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Friday.

Jamal Garhi is an ancient site located 13 kilometers from Mardan city. Research says it was a Buddhist monastery from the first till the fifth century AD at a time when Buddhism flourished in this part of the Indian subcontinent.

The Buddhist site of Jamal Garhi is divided into two parts; first is the Stupa Area and the second is monastery complex.

The Stupa Area is itself divided into three parts or courts. On the top is the Main Stupa Court. Below or in the middle is the Votive Stupas Court that has further been divided or arranged in two parts, upper votive Stupas court and lower votive Stupa court. 

Later, in an interview with Radio Pakistan's special correspondent Haider Baloch, senior Monk Dr Walpole Piyananda Thero expressed deepest gratitude to Prime Minister Imran Khan and the government of Pakistan for facilitating their visit to the sacred Buddhist sites.

He also appreciated the steps taken for the preservation and upkeep of the Buddhist sites in the country

He said heritage has nothing to do with the religion as it belongs to everyone.