TAXILA: Officials of the department of archaeology and museums handed over four relics, including two bone relics of the Buddha, to Sri Lankan officials on Thursday.

The relics will be exhibited in Sri Lanka during Vesak Buddhist Festival in 16 temples for over one month until the festival of Full Moon Poson Poya Day.

The relics were handed over by Adviser to the Prime Minister on National History and Literary Heritage Irfan Siddiqui to Sri Lankan Minister for Sustainable Development and Wildlife Gamini Jayawickrama Perera during a ceremony held at the Taxila museum.

They include two sacred bone relics of the Buddha, a stone reliquary in stupa shape and a golden casket. According to officials of the department of archaeology and museums, the bone relics were discovered at ancient Buddhist stupa Dharmarajika and are believed to date back to between the third century BC and the fifth century AD.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Siddiqui said: “Today we are here to renew our deep-rooted cultural relations by sending an exhibition of the holy relics of Lord Buddha to Sri Lanka coinciding with the upcoming Vesak festival to be held from May 19 to June 30 at different venues.”

He said that the exhibition was the outcome of a visit of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to Sri Lanka this year during which he had offered to send the holy relics of the Buddha to Sri Lanka on a regular basis.

Mr Siddiqui said that there had been an active and persistent cooperation between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the field of art and culture.

Mr Perera termed Gandhara civilisation a bond between Pakistan and the Buddhist world and said the exhibition would be another milestone in cementing of cultural relations between the two friendly countries and promotion of a soft image of Pakistan.

Prominent among those who attended the ceremony were Chief Incombent Nalandramaya, Nugegoda Ven ThiniWala Palitha Thero, High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in Pakistan retired Maj Gen C.P. Lokuketagodage, Secretary of the Ministry of Buddhasasana Wasanatha Ekanayae, High Commissioner of Pakistan to Sri Lanka retired Gen Shakeel and Secretary of National History and Literary Heritage S. Mohsin Haqqani.

Earlier in June 2011, Pakistan sent the holy relics to Sri Lanka for an exhibition at a time when the the 2,600th anniversary of Lord Buddha’s attainment of enlightenment was being held across the world.

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2016