NEW YORK, Jan 12: The United States Customs on Tuesday seized a shipment of priceless Pakistani artefacts detained by it since October at Newark (New Jersey) port in order to ascertain its origin.

The Pakistani artefacts were in a container shipped from Dubai to a consignee in New York. It was detained by US Customs after they suspected that the items in the container could be priceless artefacts from either Pakistan or Afghanistan.

The US Customs authorities informed the Pakistani Consulate in New York about the shipment and sought to establish its origin.

Last Friday Pakistan had formally asked the US State Department to seize and repatriate the Pakistani artefacts after a Pakistani archeological expert, who flew to New York, determined that most of the items in the container were of Pakistani origin, excavated in Taxila, the hub of the 2,000-year-old Ghandaran civilization.

Pakistan's Deputy Chief of Mission Mohammed Sadik said on Wednesday, "The Pakistani government is very happy with the cooperation extended to it by the US authorities in seizing the container."

He expressed hope that the repatriation process would be a short one but conceded that there were many legal implications for US authorities. He said, "We hope to soon get back the priceless artefacts which are part of our national heritage."

It is not clear whether the consignee of the goods - "Cureo-de-Oreo" - based in New York would have any claims to the artefacts which are part of Pakistan's national heritage.

Under the United Nations Convention on the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage, adopted by UNESCO in 1972, the import or export of any objects determined to be part of the national heritage from any country is a crime. Both the United States and Pakistan are signatories to the convention.