Christians Under Attack

Talking to The News, Muhammad Aqleem, deputy curator of Swat Museum, said some unidentified militants had exploded the 7th century historic statue of Buddha in Jihan Abad area of district Swat on Saturday night. "This is second attack on the 7th century statue of Buddha. The fresh attack caused irreparable loss to its head and also damaged its shoulders."

The curator maintained that the statue belonged to 7th century A.D, and it was the most complete and inspiring symbol of Gandahara art. After the historic statues of Bamyan in Afghanistan, which were destroyed by the Taliban, the swat statue was the sole example of Buddhist cultural heritage.

"It was seven meters tall and 20 feet high from the land, showing Buddha in the condition of meditation. I don't know what they want to achieve by such actions," he added. Aqleem said he had reported the incident to the local police but he did not think that the police would be able to protect Buddhist cultural sites in swat as they themselves were the victims of terrorist attacks.

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