PESHAWAR, Aug 5: MPA Arshad Khan has called upon the federal government to shift artefacts, relics and statues belonging to the Gandhara civilisation and presently being displayed in museums of other provinces to the NWFP.
Mr Khan, who is also a member of the NWFP Assembly’s standing committee on culture, sports and tourism, was addressing a news conference in the press club here on Friday.
He said that in the British colonial period, antiquities recovered from the Gandhara Civilization sites of Takht Bai, Jamal Garhi and Sarhi Bhalol were sent to the British Museum, Calcutta, and later to the Jubilee Museum, Lahore. Later, the collection of the Jubilee Museum was shifted to Lahore Museum, including the articles from the Gandhara sites.
He said that Lahore Museum was now known for the unique and splendid collection of Gandhara art, including the miracle of Sravasti, Buddhapada (footprint of Buddha) and statue of Greek goddess Athena.
“The number of pieces in the Gandharan collection is over 1,900 and includes sculptures of Buddha, Bodhisattvas and common worshippers, mainly dating from the 1st to 5th century AD.
Mr Khan said that the most important among the Gandharan artefacts in the Lahore Museum was that of Fasting Siddhartha and a stupa model from Sikri near Jamal Garhi. The sculpture was about 2 feet 8.5 inches in height and the best example of Gandharan workmanship in the world, he added.
He said that as the NWFP had many museums — in Peshawar, Charsadda, Mardan, Chakdara and Hund — there was no justification for keeping the Gandhara art in Lahore as according a Unesco charter, objects taken out from an archaeological site should be displayed near their places of origin.
He said that as Lahore, Bahawalpur and even Taxila were not the sites of the Gandhara Civilization, the relics should be transferred to the NWFP museums and till the transfer was completed, the province should be given the revenue being collected from those watching the relics.
Similarly, he added that the Gandhara sculptures in Louver Museum, France; Rome Museum, Italy; British Museum, UK; Tokyo Museum, Japan; and Metropolitan and Smithsonian museums in the USA should be returned to the NWFP.
The MPA suggested that permission for excavation at the Gandhara sites should be obtained from the NWFP government rather than the archaeological department in Karachi.
He also called on the federal government to hand over the historical places, like Balahisar Fort, located in the province to the NWFP government to open it for people.