US returns rare Buddha statue to Pakistan

WASHINGTON: The United States (US) government has handed over to Pakistan a stolen statue of starving Buddha, said to be one of only two ever located, and several other priceless artefacts dating back to the 2nd century BC.

The other starving Buddha statute is in a Pakistani museum, according to Pakistani officials who received the artefacts on Tuesday from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in Newark, New Jersey.

The items were discovered during a joint operation involving CBP and ICE. The statues and other artefacts were contained in two shipments in which the shipper misrepresented the country of origin and the contacts. Both shipments arrived at the Newark Port of Entry in September 2005.

An ICE agent assigned to the case worked with various experts in the South Asian art field as well as members of the US State Department in order to identify the articles.

Pakistani and American experts worked together on the case and determined that the items were illegally excavated from sites in the northern part of Pakistan.

Experts also found some of the items damaged, indicating that the thieves used crude methods to illegally chip statues away from the archaeological dig.

During the investigation, ICE found leads that could lead to recovery of other stolen artefacts in the future.