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New Delhi:
India has expressed its issues to Pakistan over a Buddha statue being smashed into items with a sledgehammer in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, and requested Islamabad to make sure the safety of the cultural heritage of minorities.
A uncommon life-sized statue of Buddha was smashed into items with a sledgehammer by building staff in Mardan district of the Pakistani province. The statue belonged to the Gandhara civilisation and was almost 1,700 years outdated, a senior Pakistani official had mentioned.
Four individuals have been arrested on Saturday for vandalising the statue that was found throughout excavation at an agriculture farm. The suspects had adopted the orders of a neighborhood Maulvi (prayer chief).
Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava mentioned it was an incident of July 18 in Mardan district the place throughout the excavation of one of many homes, a Gandhara-style Buddha statue was discovered.
“What we understand is four Pakistani citizens at the behest of a religious cleric, who told them that their faith will be renounced if they don’t dismantle that statue, broke that statue with a sledgehammer,” he mentioned.
This has been extensively condemned, together with by the monks in Gaya metropolis, Mr Srivastava mentioned.
There can also be widespread concern expressed by a cross part of individuals in our nation, he mentioned.
“We have expressed our concerns to Pakistan. We have conveyed our expectation that they would ensure the safety, security and well-being of the minority community there, as well as protect their cultural heritage,” he mentioned.
Director of Archeology and Museums in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Abdus Samad Khan had mentioned on Sunday that the items of the destroyed statue have been recovered to evaluate its archaeological worth.
The director mentioned that the statue belonged to the Gandhara civilisation and was roughly 1,700 years outdated.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)
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