The United States (US) handed over 133 stolen antiquities, valued at over $13 million, to Pakistan during a ceremony at the Manhattan District Attorney’s office in New York on Tuesday.
This marks the fifth such return of precious artifacts, dating back to the Gandhara period, to Pakistan, from where they were originally stolen.
Consul General Aamer Ahmed Atozai, representing the Government of Pakistan, thanked the US officials for their dedicated efforts in recovering the stolen cultural treasures of Pakistan.
During the ceremony, some of the recovered antiquities were displayed, and Consul General Atozai stated that these pieces would be showcased in museums across Pakistan.
The consul general also signed an agreement with Matthew Bogdanos, Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan and head of the Antiquities Trafficking Unit, for the repatriation of the returned artifacts to Pakistan.
Bogdanos expressed his delight in returning these “glorious pieces of Pakistani heritage” to a civilization with a history dating back 5,000 years.
In an announcement by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office in New York, earlier in 2022, the United States (US) returned 192 stolen antiquities, valued at nearly $3.4 million, to Pakistan.
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US generosity(that can also be dangerous)aside,how these precious artcrafts have landed in US is a jigsaw puzzle to be resolved?
what an irony, confiscated from the thief; by the thief; given back to the thief