US seeks to know the whereabouts of Panchen Lama

WASHINGTON: The US has urged China to immediately account for the Panchen Lama's whereabouts and his well-being. "Today marks 29 years since the People's Republic of China abducted the 11th Panchen Lama, one of the most important figures in Tibetan Buddhism, as a six-year-old child. Gedhun Choekyi Nyima remains missing and has not appeared in public since that day," a statement from the US state department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Friday. The Panchen Lama is one of the most important religious figures in Tibetan Buddhism, second only to the Dalai Lama himself.