A recent incident involving sale of a fasting Buddha statue at the prestigious Christie's fine arts auction house in the UK has brought focus on the illegal artefacts export from Pakistan. As reported by newspapers, a Unesco employee noticed a Christie's advertisement for the sale of this Gandhara relic, believed to be excavated from Pakistan in the early 1980s.
This alerted the Department of Archaeology and Museums (DOAM) to further investigate other artefacts up for auction at Christie's. On discovering more than 60 artefacts from the Gandhara region in Pakistan, the government intervened. With help of Unesco, it claimed ownership of the fasting Buddha which led Christie's to suspend the sale pending conclusive investigation. The DOAM officials are now looking into scientifically determining the origins of all the artefacts identified by them as illegally taken out of the country.
Illegal excavation of the cultural heritage sites in Pakistan is nothing new. Due to a lack of attention and low priority attached to archaeological preservation of historic sites, a significant number of them have been destroyed from illicit excavation. The Pakistani section of the ancient Gandhara region, which stretches from Kabul valley to the Indus, is woefully unpreserved. Though Pakistan's museums, including the Swat and Peshawar museums, boast of priceless collections of Gandhara art, the amount of artefacts scavenged and traded illegally has caused irreversible loss to the nation's heritage.
For example, in the 1990s, independent researches concluded that in Charsadda district alone, as many as almost half of the 75 sacred sites had either been damaged or destroyed because of illegal excavation. More recently, reports surfaced last week of unchecked illegal excavation taking place in the sacred Gandhara sites near Peshawar via underground tunnels. The report, as is the case with most such news, generated little attention from concerned quarters or general public.
World-wide, the trade of illicit artefacts is the third biggest industry after drug and arms trafficking. A large number of illegal artefacts resurface in auctions and private collections across North America, Europe and Japan. Though most of the countries have legislated against illicit artefacts trade, the international community still has a long way to go in effectively curbing this industry. Switzerland for example recognises the legality of any artefact which has remained in its borders for more than five years, thus significantly contributing to legalising stolen artefacts.
On the national level, unpreserved sites are pillaged by the locals not only for smuggling but also for quick sale at the nearest market targeting tourists. Unsuspecting tourists sometimes end up buying original antiques for a fraction of the cost. This problem of lack of control and awareness was highlighted in 1999 when Jemima Khan, former wife of Imran Khan, was charged with illegally exporting about 400 tiles believed to be centuries-old antiques from the Islamic era. Khan denied the charges claiming she bought the tiles from a local market. Though the charges were later dropped by President Musharraf, this case remains a testimony of our historical artefacts being readily available in local markets.
The most effective way to control this crime is to make local people stakeholders in the preservation process by raising awareness about the importance of keeping such sites safe from illegal excavation. The biggest reason looters find support in local communities is small monetary compensation given to the locals. According to Unesco, 98 percent of the money made out of the sale of such artefacts ends up in the pockets of middlemen. From the point of original excavation till its final sale, the price of an artefact increases hundred-fold, an increase surpassing that of smuggled drugs.
Pakistan's cultural heritage is a unique combination of multiple civilisations and religions including Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism.The sacred sites in the north-west region, if preserved, can pave the road for cultural and religious harmony between South Asian neighbours and can bring Pakistan much-needed revenue from resulting tourism. It can also be a source of pride for Pakistan, which is in desperate need for an image makeover from that of a terrorism-battered country.
Already an exhibition of Gandhara art at the Asia Society Museum in New York, featuring borrowed pieces of Buddhist artefacts Pakistan, is generating a lot of positive publicity in the US. It is only the first such exhibition in the States since 1960. Coverage of the diversity and historical legacy of the country through more such exhibitions will prove indispensable in mending the country's image tarnished by militancy.
Published in Business Recorder (25 September 2011).
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