Khyber Pakhtunkhwa minister wants archaeological artifacts back

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Archaeology and Tourism, Aqil Shah has called for the return of all those archaeological artifacts to the province, which were shifted to other parts of the country to put them on display in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
"I as a provincial minister request President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani for the return of the archaeological artefacts to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa lying at different places across the country," said Shah while addressing a news conference at Peshawar Museum, here on Monday. He was flanked by members of the Korean delegation which is currently on a visit to Pakistan.
Hee Sik Min, Jong Yung Park, CEO of Win-Win Tours, Moon Duck Wak (GM of Win-Win) and Won Jong Lee) Tendai Sect of Buddhists), Director General, Archaeology, Shah Nazar Khan, General Manager, Tourism Information Centres), Mohammad Ali Syed, Curator, Peshawar Museum, Nidaullah Sehrai and Consultant, Tourism Corporation, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Zahoor Ahmad Durrani were also present.
The minister said that the provincial government would utilise the services of private sector for the promotion of tourism in the province. He said that the visit of the Korean tourism sector experts was aimed at promoting the soft image of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The visit, he said would be followed by a visit of Chief Monk of Korea. He said that there was no precedent of the role of public sector in the promotion of tourism.
He said that the provincial government would channelize the system to pave the way for the arrival of tourists from any part of the world and after the completion of the present model tour packages; the responsibility of the promotion of tourism would be handed over to the private sector. However, he said that before the arrival of the next Korean group, he would lead a delegation of experts of archaeology to Korea that would hold high-level meetings. In this regard, the provincial minister said that he would talk to Pakistani ambassador in Korea and Chief Minister, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The provincial minister directed the preservation and rehabilitation of Buddhist sites and its revival in their original shape. He said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has hundreds of Gandhara civilisation sites and for their promotion, the provincial government had launched introductory tours scheme under which free cost of visits to historical sites were being arranged for the students of different educational institutions and civil society organisations.
He requested President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani for help in returning all archaeological artifacts lying anywhere in the country to the province to put them on display in Peshawar Museum. He said that before 18th Constitutional Amendment, Archaeology was federal subject, but it had been devolved to the provinces. Earlier, Director General (DG), Archaeology and Museums, Khyber Pakhtukhwa Shah Nazar Khan gave a detailed presentation regarding the excavation and preservation projects of the department in different parts of the province.