Four held for breaking Buddha statue

CM aide says FIR lodged against suspects under K-P Antiquity Act, 2016

MARDAN:

Four people who had allegedly smashed a Buddha statute in Mardan district were arrested on Saturday.

The statue was discovered by locals in the Takht Bhai tehsil of Mardan district during construction work.

Special Assistant to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) chief minister on Information and Local Government Kamran Bangash in a statement confirmed that all offenders who were seen smashing a Buddhist statue in Mardan district have been arrested by police. An FIR has been lodged against them under relevant sections of the K-P Antiquity Act, 2016.

The incident had occurred in Jamal Bagh area in the limits of the Saro Shah police station.

Mardan District Police Officer Dr Zahidullah following the incident, a police team was formed which traced the four suspects and booked them. Further investigation into the incident is underway, he informed.

The DPO said the suspects have been identified as Amjid, Saazuddin, Qamar Zaman and Salman.

The suspects during initial investigation revealed that they smashed the statute into pieces because the local prayer leader had said that keeping or selling it is against the basic teachings of Islam. The mosque cleric had also told them that their nikah or marriage contract would stand dissolved if they did not smash it into pieces, they informed the police.

Police are also looking for the local cleric who incited the locals to destroy the Buddha statute.

The Takht Bhai area is a tourist destination for people from Sri Lanka, Korea and Japan since it was a part of the Gandhara Civilisation - one of the earliest urban settlements documented in the history of the subcontinent.

Excavated in 1836 for the first time, archaeologists have excavated hundreds of relics made of clay, stucco and terracotta in the area.