Demand to reopen Bhagat Singh’s case to give him justice in Pakistan

PTI, Mar 24, 2024, 8:12 AM IST

Representative image (source: PTI)

Lahore: Observing the 93rd death anniversary of independence war heroes — Bhagat Singh, Raj Guru and Sukh Dev — here on Saturday, their supporters and followers demanded to reopen the case to ensure justice to them like it was done in the case of former prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.

British rulers on March 23, 1931, hanged Bhagat Singh along with Raj Guru and Sukh Dev at Shadman Chowk here after trying them under the charge of hatching a conspiracy against the regime.

Bhagat Singh, respected across the subcontinent and not just by Sikhs and Hindus but also by Muslims, was initially jailed for life but later awarded death sentence in another “fabricated case.”

Holding banners and chanting slogans, participants at the event held to observe the anniversary, demanded justice for Bhagat Singh.

Candles were lit at the Shadman Chowk to mark the occasion at the programme organised by the Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation, Pakistan.

A resolution was also adopted during the event urging the Supreme Court to reopen the case of Singh and give him justice like it was done for Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.

Bhutto was hanged through what many believe was a sham judicial trial more than 40 years ago.

Pakistan’s parliament on March 13 passed a resolution, demanding the overturning of the death sentence given to Bhutto, also the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), who was executed by the military regime of Gen Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq in 1979.

The resolution was passed a week after the Supreme Court on March 6 opined unanimously that the former premier did not receive a fair trial and due process in a much-anticipated review of the high-profile case.

On March 18, 1978, the Lahore High Court sentenced Bhutto to death for allegedly ordering the assassination of Ahmed Reza Kasuri, one of the founding members of the PPP.

On Saturday, during the event, the resolution also demanded Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to grant the status of “national heroes” to the trio and Bhagat Singh should be awarded Pakistan’s top gallantry award too, both demands made in earlier years too.

The resolution also demanded the renaming of Shadman Chowk after Singh, a matter that is already sub-judice.

Speaking on the occasion, the Foundation’s chairman advocate Imtiaz Rasheed Qureshi said peace is the need of the hour between Pakistan and India that will benefit millions of people.

Qureshi said the government should recognise the sacrifices of the war heroes and said his Foundation would continue to fight Singh’s case till he gets his due status here where he was hanged.