02 January 2005	Sunday	20 Ziqa'ad 1425

PESHAWAR, Jan 1: Federal Department of Archaeology will contest for the return of Gandhara objects seized by the US Customs in New Jersey last week, sources said.

An official said that Director General Archaeology and Museums Dr Fazal Dad Kakar was leaving for New York on Saturday night for examining the Buddha sculptures and other objects.

The US authorities recovered 33 valuable pieces of the Gandhara period including Buddha figurines and busts from a container at the Newark port in New Jersey on Wednesday.

Official sources said that the objects shipped from Dubai were owned by one Tariq Mahmood. But no details have been provided about the owner of the shipment.

Two separate invoices provided by the US authorities revealed that the container carried pieces of furniture and Buddha sculptures.

They said that Islamabad had requested the US authorities to postpone delivery of the archaeological objects to the owner till the arrival of the director general.

These sources said that the seized objects belonged to the Gandhara period and Islamabad would claim for its possession.

They said that after physical examination Islamabad would go for legal action for the return of the seized objects.

Pictures sent by the Pakistan embassy showed that these antiques belonged to the Gandhara civilization, according to a source privy to a meeting with senior officials in Islamabad regarding the issue.

They said that although the US government was not a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Protection of the World Cultural and National Heritage and that there was no bilateral agreement between Washington and Islamabad under which the latter could ask for the return of the seized objects.

However, according to the sources, Pakistan can get back the confiscated artefacts in accordance with its law it can ask for their return by using legal means available to it.

An official dealing with the archaeology said that under Section 26 of the Federal Antiquities Act, 1975, no person shall export any antiquity except under a licence to be granted by the director.

"The owner has violated law of the land by shipping artefacts to a foreign country and the US authorities are bound to return the consignment to its place of origin," he said.

Official sources, however, said that it was not yet known whether the items were original or copies of the Buddha sculptures.

They said that Mr Kakar would examine the confiscated items to establish their originality or otherwise following which further action would be taken.