The United States has imposed restrictions on the importation of certain categories of Afghan archaeological and ethnological materials into the US, the State Department said in a statement on Tuesday.

According to the statement, the restrictions are aimed to prevent trafficking materials into US art markets. “These import restrictions are intended to prevent illicitly trafficked materials from entering the US art market, thus reducing the incentive for pillage of Afghanistan’s cultural heritage and combating profit from the sale of these cultural objects by terrorists and criminal organizations,” the State Department said.

The State Department said considering the situation in Afghanistan, imposition of these restrictions was needed. According to the department, the restrictions are imposed to protect the cultural heritage of the people of Afghanistan.