Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Friday said the Pakistan Movement is a glorious chapter of the political and national history of Muslims of the Subcontinent in which they took an active part, thus creating the biggest (population-wise) Islamic state of the world.

Addressing a meeting held to review the progress of work on Aiwan-e-Quaid-e-Azam project, the chief minister stressed the need to apprise the young generation of the supreme sacrifices and heroic struggle for freedom so that it could set national targets for the future in the light of the objectives of the creation of the country. To provide the youth with a platform for achieving the objectives of Pakistan Movement and meet the future challenges, Aiwan-e-Quaid-e-Azam would be constructed over an area of 48 Kanal in Johar Town, he said.

Senior Advisor Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khan Khosa, Vice Chairman Dr. Rafique Ahmad, the Lahore Commissioner and the Director General LDA, among prominent personalities, were also present.

Terming Aiwan-e-Quaid-e-Azam a glorious project, Shahbaz Sharif expressed hope that it would serve as an effective think tank for the propagation of the ideals of Quaid-e-Azam and the objectives of Pakistan Movement. He underlined the need to apprise the young generation of the struggle for creation of Pakistan and the supreme sacrifices made for this purpose.

Shahbaz said that, in order to achieve the goal of progress and prosperity of the country, it was necessary to achieve self-reliance and reject foreign aid.

He said though Punjab was facing shortage of funds due to machinations of the federal government, generous cooperation would be extended for the project which is of vital importance. He announced a sum of Rs. 107 million for the completion of the project at the earliest so that objectives of its establishment could be achieved. He said the project was an invaluable service to the country as it would help in the study and research on various aspects of the Pakistan Movement.

Earlier, Dr. Rafique Ahmad informed the meeting about the important features of the project. He said that the project would cost 940 million rupees and its first phase would be completed by March 30, 2013.