Swamped by a wave of condemnations from the international community for destroying the 2,000-year-old Bamiyan Buddha statues, chief of Afghanistan`s Taliban militia Mullah Omar has agreed to protect the remaining relics and statues, a Pakistan official has claimed.
Omar has agreed to negotiate the protection of remaining relics and statues with the UNESCO after his recent meeting with a team of religious scholars from Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Egypt, Maulana Tahir Ashrafi, adviser to the Governor of Paksitan`s Punjab province said in Islamabad on Tuesday.

The Islamic scholars met Omar and convinced him about the need to protect the remaining heritage monuments.
Following the new development, UNESCO chief La France, who had earlier visited Kabul to prevail upon the Taliban militia not to destroy the Buddha statues, would travel to the UAE and Egypt to meet the Islamic scholars to discuss the developments, Ashrafi said.

La France would later visit India and Sri Lanka to discuss the situation arising out of the destruction of the statues. India and Sri Lanka were among the several countries which offered to buy the statues and the heritage monuments.
Bamiyan statues had been razed to the ground, but the remaining relics and tourist sites could still be saved, Ashrafi said.
Bureau Report