PESHAWAR, April 26: Tributes were paid to sons of the soil who had laid down their lives at the Qissakhwani Bazaar, Peshawar, on April 23, 1930, during the freedom struggle.

A literary-cum-cultural organization, Gandhara Hindko Board, on Sunday evening arranged a grand function at the Nishter Hall under the patronage of the respected spiritual figure of Peshawar, Syed Ameer Shah Qadri Gillani (Maulvi Jee), to mark the occasion.

A prominent worker of the Pakistan Movement, Mian Saeedur Rehman, presided over the event, while an eminent industrialist Khalid Sultan Khwaja was the chief guest. A senior journalist and a worker of the Pakistan Movement, Iqbal Riaz, and Director-General of the Cultural Centre of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Peshawar, Raeesus Sadaat, were among the guests of honour.

The speakers included Gandhara Hindko Board chairman Professor Dr Zahoor Ahmad Awan, vice-chairman Dr Adnan Gul, secretary Mohammad Ziauddin, Khursheed Ahmad advocate, Syed Qamar Abbas of PPP, Hakim Abdul Waheed of JI, Fanoos Gujjar of Pakistan Awami Party, MPA Riffat Akbar Swati of PPP-Sherpao, MPA Nighat Orakzai of PML-Q, Haleem Jan and Khwaja Mohammad Waseem, a grandson of the hero of the freedom struggle Hakim Abdul Jalil.

Professor Awan said the history of the freedom movement would remain incomplete without a mention being made of the countless sacrifices rendered by the people of this part of the subcontinent.

The Gandhara Hindko Board chairman saluted those people who had laid down their lives in Qissakhwani while resisting the oppressive colonial rule. He suggested that a great monument should be constructed at the entrance to Peshawar to remind the people of the sacrifices offered by the people of Peshawar 74 years back.