ISLAMABAD: A memorial for freedom fighter Bhagat Singh will be built in Pakistan's Punjab province, the government said.
Punjab Governor Khalid Maqbool made the announcement at a seminar in Lahore held to celebrate Singh's 100th birth anniversary on Saturday.
"Singh was the first martyr of the subcontinent and his example was followed by many youths of the time," the governor was quoted as saying by the Daily Times.
The governor said Pakistan had paid attention to the protection and care of gurdwaras, adding that a road from Wagah border to Nankana Sahib would be completed before the Nankana Festival.
He pointed that the government had renovated the Katas Temple. "I welcome the Indian guests and invite them to live here and observe the government's arrangements for the accommodation of Sikh pilgrims in the country."
Makhan Singh Kohar, an Indian delegate, said that though Singh was a Sikh, he had not represented any religion when he took part in the freedomm struggle.
Bhagat Singh was born at Faisalabad's Banga village in 1907 and was hanged at Lahore Jail in 1931 at the age of 24.
A participant Muhammad Iqbal Virk claimed that he owned the property earlier owned by Bhagat Singh. He said that he wanted to display his collection of Singh's possessions at the Lahore Museum
