Pak-based Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation Chairman serves legal notice to CPRO Lahore seeks Rs.50 crore in damages
Ferozepur, January 9, 2025: Imtiaz Rasheed Qureshi, Chairman of the Pakistan-based Shaheed Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation, has served a legal notice to Tariq Majeed, Chief Public Relations Officer of the Metropolitan Corporation, Lahore. Through his counsel Khalid Zaan Khan Kakkar, Advocate High Court, Qureshi is seeking Rs. 50 crore in damages along with an unconditional apology for allegations of receiving foreign funding and for labelling freedom fighter Bhagat Singh as a criminal.
Qureshi, who is also an advocate, has been advocating in courts to prove the innocence of Bhagat Singh and his associates, Rajguru and Sukhdev. He argues that their names were not mentioned in the original FIR (in Urdu) that led to their execution. He has strongly criticized the Punjab government’s opposition to renaming Lahore’s Shadman Chowk as "Shaheed Bhagat Singh Chowk," despite a 2023 High Court directive supporting the move.
Calling the government’s stance a "distortion of history" and "tampering with facts," Qureshi emphasized that such actions undermine the legacy of Bhagat Singh, a revolutionary born in present-day Pakistan. The ongoing legal battle has reignited awareness of Singh’s contributions, with the Foundation preparing to present substantial historical evidence when the case returns to court on January 17, 2025.
In the notice, Qureshi stated: "My client is a renowned personality, both nationally and internationally, recognized for his efforts in promoting peace and harmony in society. He is a patriot, devoted to his country and religion, and lives an accomplished and contented life." The notice also highlighted that Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah praised Bhagat Singh during a Central Assembly session in Delhi on September 12, 1929.
The notice accuses Majeed of using "highly ugly and insulting language" in a report submitted to the Lahore High Court in November 2024. It further provides Majeed with 15 days to issue an unconditional apology and pay Rs. 50 crore in damages, failing which Qureshi will pursue criminal and civil legal action.
The controversy stems from a November 2024 decision by the Lahore district government, which, based on a report by Commodore (R) Majeed, rejected the plan to rename Shadman Chowk after Bhagat Singh. The site is historically significant as the location where Singh was executed on March 23, 1931, say 94 years ago.