ISLAMABAD, March 17: Customs Court has directed Department of Archaeology and Museums (DOAM) to collect 26 counterfeit items that were being smuggled out of the country.

“The items had been lying with the customs department for the last one year to determine authenticity of the items and ownership,” said an official in DOAM explaining that taking possession of counterfeit items was as important as taking back original ones because they were made with the intention to deceive/cheat people and to discourage the practice.

According to the official, fake items were also studied for research purposes and used in labs by archaeology students to help them differentiate fakes from the real antiquities.

The items included glass utensils, figurines and decoration items. Under the Antiquity Act 1997 counterfeiting, replicas and copies of protected antiquities were prohibited and punishable under the law unless permitted by the Director General DOAM under license.

“Only DOAM has the authority to make copies and it is done in a proper workshop in the National Museum in Karachi. DOAM has made copies of some of the famous treasures discovered in this region such as the Fast Siddhartha, impressions from Buddha’s life or the King Priest that are used as gifts for dignitaries, display in museums, lent for cultural exhibitions or for representation in Pakistani missions,” the official said.

According to DOAM, a counterfeit item was almost the same as an original artifact with slight differences in specifications such as size but was designed to look original. And replicas were exact impressions but looked new.

Coins: The Customs Court was still to hand over more than 4,000 coins to DOAM that were confiscated from a truck intercepted at Attock police check post early in 2011.

DOAM said that the 2nd to 5th century Kushan, Gandhara period coins were being smuggled, possibly out of the country. The truck was coming from Peshawar and the ancient artifacts were recovered during routine inspection.

Christies: The government had provided all necessary evidence to Pakistan Embassy in the USA through the Foreign Office and its permanent UNESCO representative in Paris to claim the Fasting Siddhartha and over 60 other antiquities in possession of the famous auction house Christies.

The antiquities came into notice when they were advertised by Christies for auction on their web page. Department of Archaeology and Museums reacted to the advertisements and wrote to the famous auction house that the antiquities belonged to Pakistan and should be returned to their country of origin under international law. The starting auction price for the Fasting Siddhartha was set at $4.45 million.

However, the claim had stopped the auction.

“The fasting Siddhartha was smuggled out of Pakistan back in 1982 into Germany. Last year it found its way to Christies. There are over 60 other antiquities smuggled out of Pakistan that were put up for auction and advertised online,” said an official in DOAM explaining that Pakistan government responded to inquiries from the auction house (how the items made their way to the US and legal action under the international and country laws on how to return the treasures).

The official confirmed that the Fast Siddhartha in possession of the auction house was stolen from an unknown site and not from any museum.

According to DOAM it was now up to the Pakistan Embassy in the USA to ensure the safe and quick return of the lost treasures.