The US has returned an ancient Buddhist stonesculpture to Pakistan, from where it was stolen inthe 1980s.

日前，美国政府向巴基斯坦归还了一尊古佛石雕，该石像曾于上世纪80年代在巴基斯坦被盗。

The 2nd Century piece, depicting Buddha's footprintsalongside religious symbols, was taken from theSwat Valley and eventually smuggled into the US.

在这尊公元二世纪左右的石像石雕上，描绘的是佛祖的足迹和其他一些佛教象征的符号。该石像曾于斯瓦特山谷被盗，后来辗转流落到了美国。

A Japanese antiques dealer who brought it to the US from Tokyo pleaded guilty to possessingstolen property in April. The sculpture was expected to reach $1m (700,000 pounds) atauction, but the sale was intercepted by New York authorities.

据悉，该石像是由一名日本古董商从东京带到美国去的，而在今年四月份，该古董商已经承认自己犯下了占有偷盗赃物罪。这座石像本来预计将在一场拍卖会上拍出100万美元(约合70万英镑)的价格，但是纽约当局截获了这场非法交易。

New York prosecutors returned the sculpture to Pakistan's Deputy Chief of Mission RizwanSaeed Sheikh at a ceremony on last Wednesday.

在上周三的一场交接仪式上，来自纽约的检察官们将该石像交给了巴基斯坦代表团副团长赛义德·谢赫。

Mr Sheikh said it was "an important element of the cultural history of Pakistan", and wouldlikely be kept in New York for the short term and possibly put on display.

代表团副团长谢赫表示，这座石像是“巴基斯坦文化史上非常重要的一部分”，并表示该座石像很可能将在短期内留在纽约、并向公众展出。

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R Vance Jr said the piece was "so much more than a piece ofproperty". "It's an ancient piece that speaks to the history and culture of Pakistan that shouldbe celebrated and protected," he told the Associated Press.

曼哈顿地区检察官小塞勒斯·R·维斯表示，这件珍宝“不仅仅只具有经济价值”。他告诉美联社：“这是一尊来自古代的珍宝，它向人们诉说着巴基斯坦古时候的文化和历史，而这些珍贵的历史和文化理应受到重视和保护。”

Antiquities dealer Tatsuzo Kaku had said he was in part motivated by a desire to protectPakistan's artefacts, but this was dismissed by other experts, who said there were goodstructures in place in Pakistan for doing this. Kaku paid a $5,000 fine and a sentence of time-served and left the country voluntarily.

被捕的日本古董商贺来辰藏表示，他是出于对这件珍宝的保护才将其带到美国的，但一些专家驳斥了他的话，并指出巴基斯坦当地就有专门保护、修复古董的机构。在贺来辰藏支付了5000美元的罚金、免于了监禁刑罚之后，他便自愿离开了美国。