PESHAWAR, Jan 4: The NWFP government has asked federal and Punjab governments to return its antiques, belonging to Gandhara and other civilisations. "We have asked the federal government to return all antiques and artefacts of ancient civilisations and to vacate all monuments and historic buildings of the NWFP because these are part of our cultural heritage. This would contribute greatly towards promoting our tourism industry," said NWFP Minister for Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Hussain Ahmad Kanju while speaking at a press conference here on Thursday.

The press conference was convened to give details to the media about centenary celebrations of the Peshawar Museum, which will begin on Jan 8 and continue till Jan 13.

Mr Kanju said that the Punjab government had kept the mighty statue of the Buddha since 1906, when it had been first shifted there by the British government from the NWFP and displayed at the Punjab Museum. He said the federal government had not vacated the Balahisar Fort, constructed by the Mughals in the 16th century and currently serving as the headquarters of the Frontier Corps, despite the fact the provincial government had already provided land in Hayatabad area for the purpose.

The minister said that the provincial government had taken up the matter with both the governments, and expressed the hope that the NWFP government would get a positive response from both Centre and the Punjab government.

Giving details of the centenary celebrations of the Peshawar Museum, Mr Kanju said that the building now accommodating the museum had been constructed in 1906 by the British government as the Victoria Memorial Hall, and in 1927 it had been handed over to the provincial government. He claimed that the Peshawar Museum had the world's biggest collection of antiques of the Gandhara and other civilizations.

Moreover, he said, the statues covering various stages of Buddha's life were an important and distinctive feature of this museum.

The minister said that different programmes and events had been planned to celebrate the centenary of the museum.

He said a tonga rally to be brought out from the Peshawar Museum to Gor Khutery Museum on Jan 10, a declamation contest on Jan 11, and a handicraft exhibition were some of the important features of the week-long celebrations.

Mr Kanju said that the MMA government considered archaeology as an integral tool to promote tourism in the province, and that was why the number of total museums in the province was being increased from three to seven.

Likewise, he said, two additional galleries with an estimated cost of Rs39.843 million were being constructed in the Peshawar Museum.