[MSN] Pakistan hailed yesterday the return of dozens of ancient Buddha statues and stone reliefs pillaged from its archaeological sites and smuggled to the United States, and warned that illicit demand for antiquities was growing.

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Return of priceless Buddhist antiquities from US hailed 
AP
 
March 12, 2007
 

Islamabad: Pakistan hailed yesterday the return of dozens of ancient Buddha
statues and stone reliefs pillaged from its archaeological sites and
smuggled to the United States, and warned that illicit demand for
antiquities was growing.

The 38 stone and terra-cotta artefacts, dating back to as early as the
second century AD, were confiscated by the US customs in September 2005 at
Port Newark and were returned to Pakistan after experts from both countries
established their origin.

"It's a collection beyond price. We are very, very pleased to play a role to
restore this legacy to the nation that produced it," US Ambassador Ryan
Crocker told a small ceremony to mark the repatriation at the Islamabad
Museum. 

The artefacts, also including lotus leaf pedestals, Buddha heads and
intricately carved stone ornaments, originate from the Gandhara
civilisation, when Buddhism was practised on either side of the modern-day
border between northwestern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan.

Officials said it was the first time antiquities confiscated by another
country had been returned to Pakistan, which struggles to prevent looting of
artefacts from its hundreds of unexcavated archaeological sites for sale in
the US and Europe.

Pakistan is also seeking the repatriation of smuggled antiquities that have
been seized by authorities in Britain and Belgium, officials said.

Culture Minister G.G. Jamal said export of Gandharan artefacts has been
going on "since colonial times to this day", and that demand was rising.

He accused "international gangsters" of depriving nations such as Pakistan
of their cultural heritage.

"It's certainly encouraging that the international community led by the
United States has now risen to the occasion, (so) that no nation should be
deprived of their cultural identity and cultural wealth," Jamal said.

A second consignment of the confiscated artefacts, including a rare
"starving" Buddha statue - one of only four known examples in Pakistan - is
due to arrive this week. A traveling display of the antiquities is planned
in museums across Pakistan.

Fazal Dad Kakar, Pakistan's director-general of archaeology and museums,
said the returned artefacts' provenance had been established from the schist
stone they are made of.

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