The United States returned 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 event marked the fifth repatriation of precious artifacts from the Gandhara period, which were illicitly taken from Pakistan.
In 2022, the US had previously returned 192 stolen antiquities, valued at nearly $3.4 million, to Pakistan following an investigation into the infamous Indian-American art dealer Subhash Kapoor.
Aamer Ahmed Atozai, Pakistan’s Consul General in New York, expressed gratitude to the District Attorney’s office, its Antiquities Trafficking Unit, and the Department of Homeland Security for their efforts in recovering Pakistan’s cultural heritage. Several of the recovered artifacts were displayed at the event, and Atozai noted that they would soon be exhibited in museums across Pakistan.
An agreement was also signed between Consul General Atozai and Matthew Bogdanos, the Assistant District Attorney leading the Antiquities Trafficking Unit, to ensure the safe return of the artifacts to Pakistan. Bogdanos expressed his pleasure in returning these “magnificent pieces of Pakistani heritage,” highlighting Pakistan’s rich civilization that spans 5,000 years.
