Pakistan Customs’ seizure on Friday of two Buddha statues bound for China once again brings to light the recurring issue of historical artefacts’ smuggling out of the country. The statues were reportedly booked from Islamabad and intercepted, mercifully, at the international mail office in Karachi on a tip-off. Though the museum authorities have yet to authenticate the items as genuine antiques, it can be safely argued that for every illegal shipment of historical relics thus stopped, there will be many that make it to their destinations abroad. Gandhara antiquities of the 2nd century BC to 6th century AD and those of the pre-historic Indus Valley, in particular, form the mainstay of this illicit trade. With every one piece of national heritage smuggled out, the country is poorer. Yet, there is little visible effort made to safeguard historical treasures, whether they are housed in museums or left exposed to the elements at excavation sites across the land. Why this neglect of a heritage that is the envy of the whole wide world is the question...   more »