PESHAWAR, April 23: Speakers paid glowering tributes here on Wednesday to those hundreds of people who laid their lives for the freedom of motherland in Qissa Khwani on April 23, 1930.

Gandhara Hindko Board (GHB), a literary, cultural and social welfare body organised the rally. Carrying huge banners, the procession started from Bazar-i-Misgaran and reached the two historic monuments erected in memory of the people who were killed by British troops 78 years ago on the same spot.

The participants laid floral wreaths on the memorials and prayed for the departed souls of the sons of the soil who laid down their lives for the cause of freedom.

Haji Haleem Jan Sethi, who led the rally, in his address said that Qissa Khwani firing incident was an important part of the Independence Movement launched in this part of the world. He deplored that the supreme sacrifice offered by the people of the Walled City of Peshawar had not been highlighted properly in the past.

He said that GHB would soon publish a book to highlight the April 23, 1930 firing tragedy that left 400 people dead, though the British claimed the toll was 179.

Other speakers said those who faced the bullets at Qaissa Khwani on April 23, 1930 belong to this soil, adding their varied political affiliations carried secondary importance.

Sajjad Awan said that the GHB had been observing Peshawar Martyrs Day since 2004 and the event formed a regular part of the board's several activities.

He announced that GHB would also hold a conference at Iranian

Cultural Centre on April 26, to pay homage to Qissa Khwani martyrs. — APP