Australia’s government returned a Bronze Age historic relic to Pakistan, marking a diplomatic victory for Pakistan.
At a ceremony attended by senior officials from the Australian Office of the Arts, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Australian Border Force (ABF), INTERPOL Canberra, and the Australian Federal Police, the stone was handed over to Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Australia, Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri.
The Australian government has repatriated an object of cultural heritage from Pakistan for the first time under the Unesco treaty.
The artifact was illegally taken out of the nation after being surreptitiously dug in Balochistan. It was acquired online from a merchant in the United States by an Australian person and shipped to Australia in July 2020.
The ABF stopped the object for inspection, and it was discovered to be Pakistani cultural property.
Under the Unesco convention on the Means of Prohibiting the Illicit Import, Export, and Transfer of Cultural Property 1970, the Pakistani High Commission has issued a restoration request to the Australian Office of the Arts for the return of the object to its original owner.
Pakistan and Australia are both signatories to the convention in question.
On the occasion, High Commissioner Chaudhri praised the Australian government’s efforts in intercepting, rescuing, and restoring to Pakistan this extremely significant Bronze Age cultural artifact.
He emphasised the necessity of close coordination among countries in the fight against illicit cultural property trafficking.
Pakistan’s commitment to cooperating with foreign allies and partners to conserve common cultural assets was also reaffirmed by the high commissioner.
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