Afghan relics smuggled to Pakistan

The director of the archaeology department at the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Nadir Rasuli, says most of Afghanistan’s historical artefacts had been smuggled abroad, including to Europe and the United States, via Pakistan. He said the current 500-member protection force for archaeological sites would be increased to 2,500 so as to curb illegal excavation and save the national heritage. Rasuli said some 5,000 archaeological sites have identified, and excavating them would cost 10,000 to 15,000 US dollars each.