SHC Issues Notices For Dancing Girl Statuette

KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Nov, 2016 ) : Sindh High Court (SHC) Thursday issued notices on a petition to respondents for bringing back the statuette of "Dancing Girl" discovered from Moen-jo-Daro currently in possession of India.

A two-judge bench comprising Mr. Justice Irfan Saadat Khan and Mr. Justice Muhammad Humayun Khan heared the constitutional petition filed by Advocate Abdul Wahab Baloch. The court issued notices to the respondents for December 07 for submitting their comments on the Dancing Girl.

The petitioner informed the court that the statuettes of Dancing Girl and King Priest were dug out from Moen-jo-Daro in 1926. He submitted that the priceless bronze statuette Dancing Girl was in National Museum in New Dehli, India, and had not been retrieved as it was the property of Sindh province and excavated with other fascinating artifacts from Moen-jo-Daro by archaelogist Earnest Mackey.

He told the court that these statuettes were taken away by Sir Mortimer Wheeler, a british archeologist to India for putting on display in an exhibition and later, King Priest and other relics were recovered by Pakistani officials but the Dancing Girl still remained there.

Petitioner further added, "According to the UNESCO convention of 1972 the original owner of any artifact is the country where relic is found." He prayed the court that efforts should be made for returning of aforesaid statuette. Upon the request of the petitioner, the court issued respondents in the petition to submit their replies on the matter by December 07.