After Successful Rescue, Ancient Buddhist Figures Destroyed at Police Station

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE

PAKISTAN---Amid the sweating and heaving, labourers offloading smuggled boxes from a seized container argued whether their contents were Hindu or Buddhist, ignoring that they were smashing the treasures in the process. The work, which began at about 8am turned the Awami Colony police station into a mangled museum of Gandhara art of over 30 pieces. “We’ll open a museum right here,” joked one of the police officers. “Here, you want to take one home?” Their value in Japan, according to one estimate, could be more than $10 million. According to Qasim Ali Qasim, the director of the archaeology and museums department, the Buddhist sculptures were known as Gandhara art and were found in Taxila, Peshawar and Swat in Pakistan and even parts of Afghanistan. [link]