‘Both the standing Gandharan Buddha from Pakistan, seen here, and the lost Bamiyan Buddhas of Afghanistan, depicted in my paintings, were built during the Kushan period around 200 CE. I hold Pakistani citizenship but my hometown is Bamiyan so on a personal level this standing Buddha is a salvaged monument to the lost culture and connects my displaced self with the lost Buddhas of my home town. The significance of the Gandharan sculpture is that it gives a full picture of the missing face and arms of the Bamiyan Buddhas.’
— Khadim Ali