Pakistan Receives Stolen Ancient Buddhist Sculpture from US

The 2nd Century piece, depicting Buddha’s footprints alongside religious symbols, was stolen in the 1980s 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.

The sculpture was expected to reach $1m (£700,000) 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.