Bhagat Singh's memorial to be raised in Lahore

New Delhi, June 22 (UNI) Pakistan will raise a memorial at the spot where freedom fighter Bhagat Singh was sent to the gallows in Lahore on March 23, 1923.

Announcing this at a gathering of Punjabis here last evening, World Punjabi Congress President Fakhar Zaman said the memorial would come up before the end of the birth centenary celebrations of Bhagat Singh.

''For the first time in Pakistan, we have celebrated the birth anniversary of Bhagat Singh in Lahore this year,'' Mr Zaman, who was the Cultural Affairs Minister in Benazir Bhutto's government and also Pakistan Punjab's chief of Pakistan People's Party (PPP), said.

Mr Zaman, a well-known Punjabi writer and poet, said they would also strive to name some streets of Lahore after the names of eminent literary personalities of the past like Bulle Shah, Warris Shah and others.

''But the Punjabis in India should also reciprocate by raising the memorial of Dulla Bhatti, a legendary hero of Punjabis who rebelled against the ''misrule'' of Mughals and was executed in Delhi,'' Mr Zaman said.

''According due recognition to Punjabi heros will help remove the mist of misunderstanding among the people of both countries,'' he said.

He said the Punjabi Congress will again hold a three-day conference in Lahore from December 21 in which writers, poets and literateurs from world over would be invited.

Earlier, Punjabis in the capital celebrated the 54th birthday of former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto with pomp and show sending an apparent message that the leader was their best bet for the success of Indo-Pak peace process.

Mr Zaman confirmed that Ms Bhutto would be coming to Pakistan from London, where she is presently residing, to participate in the elections later this year.

Dr S S Noor, an eminent Punjabi writer and head of Indian Chapter of the Punjabi Congress, spoke about the breaking of economic barriers between the two countries to spur growth.

He said in a contemporary developing world, bilateral barriers were both self-defeating and counter-productive.

The writers, who were present there, said the visa-regime between the two countries should be liberalised to strengthen peace in the region.

''If the two countries move positively in this direction, the Kashmir problem will be solved,'' they added.

UNI