US bans import of arts, antiquities from Afghanistan

KABUL (Pajhwok): The US has imposed a four-year ban on imports of art and antiquities from Afghanistan, the US Department of State said.

A statement from the US Department of State said that the ban is effective from February 18 this year to April 28, 2026.

US State Department said the ban was imposed under the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act to curb antiquities smuggling from Afghanistan.

“These import restrictions are intended to prevent illicitly trafficked materials from entering the US art market, thus reducing the incentive for pillage of Afghanistan’s cultural heritage and combatting profit from the sale of these cultural objects by terrorists and criminal organizations,” the statement said.

The Afghan government did not comment on the statement so far.

A number of artifacts from the Afghan National Museum were stolen or damaged during the civil war of the 1970s, some were moved abroad and others were kept inside the country.

Some of the artifacts that have been moved abroad over the past two decades have been returned to Afghanistan.

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