DHAKA: The US has returned an ancient Buddhist stone sculpture stolen in the 1980s, to Pakistan.

The piece, depicting Buddha’s footprints alongside religious symbols, was stolen from the Swat Valley and eventually smuggled into the US.

A Japanese antiques dealer who brought it to the US from Tokyo pleaded guilty to possessing stolen property in April, BBC reports Thursday (April 28).

The sculpture was expected to reach $1-m at auction, but the sale was intercepted by New York authorities.

New York prosecutors returned the sculpture to Pakistan’s Deputy Chief of Mission Rizwan Saeed Sheikh at a ceremony on Wednesday.

Sheikh said it was ‘an important element of the cultural history of Pakistan’, and would likely be kept in New York for the short term and possibly put on display.

BDST: 1401 HRS, APR 28, 1620
SAS/RR