Opposition leader, Imran Kahn, says discovery can help promote religious tourism in the countryPakistan has unveiled the remains of a 1,700-year-old sleeping Buddha as part of an initiative to encourage tourism and project religious harmony in a region roiled by Islamist militancy. Eighty-eight years on, excavations resumed and the 14-metre-high (48-ft-high) Kanjur stone Buddha image was unearthed. “This is from the 3rd century AD, making it the world’s oldest sleeping Buddha remains,” Abdul Samad, director of Bhamla’s archaeology and museums department, told Reuters. “We have discovered over 500 Buddha objects and this 48ft-long sleeping Buddha remains,” he added. “It’s a world heritage site [and] because of it people can come for religious tourism and see these places,” he said.

Source: The Guardian November 15, 2017 20:03 UTC