Information and Culture Minister Abdul Bari Jahani says Afghanistan can claim for getting Koh-e-Noor diamond.
The Koh-i-Noor also spelled Koh-i-Nûr and Kooh-è Noor) is a large, colourless diamond that was found near Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, India, possibly in the 13th century. It weighed 793 carats (158.6 g) uncut and was first owned by the Kakatiya dynasty. The stone changed hands several times between various feuding factions in South Asia over the next few hundred years, before ending up in the possession of Queen Victoria after the British conquest of the Punjab in 1849.
In an interview with VOA journalist, Minister of Information and Culture said that Ranjit Singh had forcefully get the diamond from Shah Shuja and submitted to Britain.
It is said Indian government officials have stopped to claim for re-getting Koh-e-Noor diamond from England.
Minister of Information and Culture asserted that the diamond had historical value and its value has not been specified yet.
According to minister of information and culture, Koh-e-Noor diamond was in India 500-600 years ago.
Abdul Bari Jahani added that Ahmad Shah Baba had not forcefully got the diamond, but wife of the Iranian’s King Nadir Afshar had granted it to Ahmad Shah Baba, so the diamond belongs to Afghanistan.
The Indian government is making “all possible efforts” to retrieve the Kohinoor diamond contrary to reported comments from the country’s Solicitor General that the rare historical stone was given as a gift to the United Kingdom and not stolen.
The owner of the diamond is India. Iranian ruler Nader Afshar took it from Hindu temple when he conquered India, then it was given to Ahmad Shah Durani by the wife of Nader Shah, and one Afghan prince gave it to Ranjit Singh to help him in getting the throne in Kabul.