US Returns 133 Stolen Artifacts to Pakistan
The United States returned 133 stolen artifacts worth over $13 million to Pakistan during a ceremony at the Manhattan District Attorney’s office in New York on Tuesday.
This marks the fifth transfer of such items to Pakistan. The artifacts, dating back to the Gandhara period, were stolen from Pakistan.
Consul General in New York, Aamer Ahmed Atozai, received the artifacts on behalf of the Pakistani government and thanked the District Attorney’s office, its Antiquities Trafficking Unit, and the Department of Homeland Security for recovering them.
Some of the recovered artifacts were displayed at the ceremony. Consul General Atozai said these pieces would be showcased in museums across Pakistan.
He also signed an agreement with Assistant District Attorney Matthew Bogdanos, who heads the Antiquities Trafficking Unit, for the return of the artifacts to Pakistan.
Bogdanos expressed his joy in returning these valuable pieces of Pakistani heritage, noting that Pakistan’s civilization dates back 5,000 years.
In 2022, the US had also returned 192 stolen artifacts worth nearly $3.4 million to Pakistan after an investigation into a notorious Indian-American art dealer, Subhash Kapoor.
