MINAR-E-PAKISTAN

Minar-e-Pakistan in the lqbal Park, Lahore was constructed to commemorate the famous Lahore Resolution which on 23 March 1940, in which Pakistan Muslim League, the single representative political party of all Muslims of the India in its historic 34 annual session unanimously demanded the creation of a separate homeland for the Muslims of this sub-continent. The Minar is a blend of Mughal and modern architecture and has been very boldly designed. The foundation stone was laid on 23 March 1960 by the governor West Pakistan Mr Akhtar Hussain in the Minto Park, which was later renamed as Iqbal Park, after poet Dr Iqbal who first gave the idea of a separate Muslim country for the Muslims of the British India. The minar was architectured by Naseer ud Din Mira'at Khan who was a graduate of St. Petersburg University and originally belonged to Daghistan, USSR. He came to Pakistan and married here. From 1953-58 he was consultant to the Government of Pakistan on construction and was the man behind the designing of Police Training College, Sihala, Qadaffi Stadium Lahore and many other buildings. It i s said that in early 1963,President Ayub Khan called Mr. Mira'at in governor house Lahore and took out fountain pen from his pocket and placed it vertically on the table and asked Mr. Mira'at that he wanted a monument "burj (the word he used)" like this to be build. The design approved by the President was built under the personal supervision of Mr. Mira'at by Mian Abdul Khaliq and Company. The Minar was completed on 31 October 1968 at an estimated cost of Rs. 7.5 million. The money was collected by imposing additional tax on the cinema and horse racing tickets.