ISLAMABAD: The United States formally returned more than 450 cultural artifacts to Pakistan on Thursday in a ceremony at the Islamabad Museum, marking a significant step in the joint fight against the illicit trafficking of antiquities.
The ceremony, attended by dignitaries from both nations, served as a tangible testament to a decade-long partnership aimed at dismantling the shadowy networks that have long plundered South Asia’s ancient past for the global black market.
Among the artifacts carefully crated for their journey home was a rare 2nd-century C.E. Buddhapada sculpture, a stone imprint of the Buddha’s foot valued at $1.1 million that had vanished from Pakistan in the 1980s only to resurface decades later in a New York gallery. It was just one of many pieces, including a delicate Gandharan frieze depicting serene Buddhist figures and ancient terracotta figurines from the Mehrgarh civilization dating back to 3500 B.C.E., that had been smuggled out of the region and hidden in plain sight within the American art world.
Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan District Attorney whose Antiquities Trafficking Unit spearheaded the recovery, described the handover as a victory for justice and history.
“These objects were not merely stolen goods; they were the severed limbs of a civilization,” Bragg said, highlighting how his office, working alongside the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, had traced the complex web of foreign-operated criminal organizations responsible for the thefts. Over the last ten years, this relentless pursuit has led to the return of 514 antiquities worth nearly $23 million, a figure that continues to climb as investigations peel back layers of deception.
The collection also featured a gold coin minted during the reign of King Strato I between 105 and 85 B.C.E., recovered as recently as 2023, alongside a majestic statue of the Bodhisattva Maitreya.
Each item tells a story of loss and, now, of restoration, symbolizing a renewed commitment between Washington and Islamabad to protect their shared heritage. As the crates were sealed and the artifacts prepared for their final placement in Pakistani soil, the event underscored a growing global consensus: that the past belongs to the people who created it, and that no amount of wealth can justify the erasure of history.
