Council formed to save Dilip Kumar's ancestral home in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Several civil society groups and activists from Pakistan's northwest have formed a 'jirga' or council to work for the protection of Bollywood legend Dilip Kumar's ancestral home in Peshawar.

The civil society groups involved in the move include the Bangladesh, Bharat and Pakistan People's Forum, Karwan, Citizen for Clean Environment and Almi Pushto Congress.

Journalists and columnists like Younas Qiyasi, Syed Bukhar Shah and Nasir Hussain are also part of the jirga.

Addressing a news conference at Dilip Kumar's residence in Mohallah Khudadad today, Bangladesh, Bharat and Pakistan People's Forum chairman Shakeel Ahmad said the jirga was formed to save the heritage of Peshawar.

Dilip Kumar in a celebrity of international stature and protection of his ancestral home is a responsibility of the government and people of the region, he said.

The government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province recently put on hold its plan to buy Dilip Kumar's home and preserve it as a national heritage site after several persons laid claim to the property on learning that authorities were willing to pay a sizeable amount for it.

The provincial government has plans to acquire the homes of Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor and declare them heritage sites.

The government's decision prompted the civil society groups to approach the current owner of Dilip Kumar's home and to request him to delay its destruction.