<p>India has expressed its concerns to Pakistan over a Buddha statue being smashed into pieces with a sledgehammer in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province and asked Islamabad to ensure the protection of the cultural heritage of minorities.</p>.<p>A rare life-sized statue of Buddha was smashed into pieces with a sledgehammer by construction workers in Mardan district of the Pakistani province. The statue belonged to the Gandhara civilisation and was nearly 1,700 years old, a senior Pakistani official had said.</p>.<p>Four persons were arrested on Saturday for vandalising the statue that was discovered during excavation at an agriculture farm. The suspects had followed the orders of a local Maulvi (prayer leader).</p>.<p>Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said it was an incident of July 18 in Mardan district where during the excavation of one of the houses, a Gandhara-style Buddha statue was found.</p>.<p>"What we understand is four Pakistani citizens at the behest of a religious cleric, who told them that their faith will be renounced if they don't dismantle that statue, broke that statue with a sledgehammer," he said.</p>.<p>This has been widely condemned, including by the monks in Gaya city, Srivastava said.</p>.<p>There is also widespread concern expressed by a cross-section of people in our country, he said.</p>.<p>"We have expressed our concerns to Pakistan. We have conveyed our expectation that they would ensure the safety, security and well-being of the minority community there, as well as protect their cultural heritage," he said.</p>.<p>Director of Archeology and Museums in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Abdus Samad Khan had said on Sunday that the pieces of the destroyed statue have been recovered to assess its archaeological value.</p>.<p>The director said that the statue belonged to the Gandhara civilisation and was approximately 1,700 years old.</p>
<p>India has expressed its concerns to Pakistan over a Buddha statue being smashed into pieces with a sledgehammer in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province and asked Islamabad to ensure the protection of the cultural heritage of minorities.</p>.<p>A rare life-sized statue of Buddha was smashed into pieces with a sledgehammer by construction workers in Mardan district of the Pakistani province. The statue belonged to the Gandhara civilisation and was nearly 1,700 years old, a senior Pakistani official had said.</p>.<p>Four persons were arrested on Saturday for vandalising the statue that was discovered during excavation at an agriculture farm. The suspects had followed the orders of a local Maulvi (prayer leader).</p>.<p>Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said it was an incident of July 18 in Mardan district where during the excavation of one of the houses, a Gandhara-style Buddha statue was found.</p>.<p>"What we understand is four Pakistani citizens at the behest of a religious cleric, who told them that their faith will be renounced if they don't dismantle that statue, broke that statue with a sledgehammer," he said.</p>.<p>This has been widely condemned, including by the monks in Gaya city, Srivastava said.</p>.<p>There is also widespread concern expressed by a cross-section of people in our country, he said.</p>.<p>"We have expressed our concerns to Pakistan. We have conveyed our expectation that they would ensure the safety, security and well-being of the minority community there, as well as protect their cultural heritage," he said.</p>.<p>Director of Archeology and Museums in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Abdus Samad Khan had said on Sunday that the pieces of the destroyed statue have been recovered to assess its archaeological value.</p>.<p>The director said that the statue belonged to the Gandhara civilisation and was approximately 1,700 years old.</p>