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Taleban presses cannons, tanks to destroy Buddhist statues

K J M Varma in Islamabad

Disregarding international outcry over its decision to destroy the ancient Bamiyan Buddha statues and other heritage artefacts, Afghanistan's Taleban on Thursday began pounding the statues in various cities to pieces by using cannons and battle tanks to blast them.

Afghanistan Radio quoted Taleban Information Minister Qudratullah Jamal as telling reporters in Kabul that the Taleban started destroying statues in Kandahar, Bamiyan, Heart and Kabul museum following a fresh decree from its chief Mullah Omar.

"We will use all means, including cannons and tanks, to destroy the statues," the Taleban Information Minister said.

The destruction started even as Taleban's close ally Pakistan, under considerable pressure from various SAARC as well as several Western countries, appealed to the Taleban leadership to protect the rich historical monuments.

"We appeal to the Afghan government to take measures to fully protect Afghanistan's rich historical monuments, sites and artefacts which are part of world's cultural heritage," the official spokesman said in a statement in Islamabad.

Heads of missions of several countries including Sri Lanka and Japan met Pakistan and Taleban officials to stop the decision to destroy the statues.

The decree for the destruction of statues was issued after consultations with religious leaders and Taleban Islamic Supreme Court, the minister said.

"The orders for destruction have been issued because these statues have remained as a shrine of infidels and they are worshipping these statues and still the statues are being respected and probably it will be changed for shrines again, while God Almighty is the real shrine and all the false shrines should be smashed," the decree said.

Omar had directed the Ministries of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice and Information and Culture to destroy all the statues in order to implement the judgments of Ulema and supreme court.

The order, announced on Monday on the official Taleban radio, was met with shock from Tokyo to Paris, where UNESCO demanded the Taleban 'halt the destruction of (Afghanistan's) cultural heritage'.

Afghanistan, a Buddhist centre before Islamic conquerors invaded around 1,400 years ago, is famous for its two massive and ancient Buddha statues in the central province of Bamiyan.

Carved into sandstone cliffs and standing 50 meters and 34.5 meters tall, they are among the tallest standing Buddhas in the world.

Museums around the country host smaller but equally important Buddhist figures and other priceless statues.

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