Construction of Minar-e-Pakistan was partly funded by people going to gamble at racecourses

Photo: AFP

When the Minar-e-Pakistan was constructed there were no dam funds to raise money for it, so the government of Punjab instituted the Pakistan [Day] Memorial Cess (Punjab) Act, 1964 — a tax on racecourse and movie tickets.

Construction of Minar-e-Pakistan began in 1960 and was completed in 1968 and it was partly financed by the cess. A cess is a tax or levy.

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In this case, the tax was imposed on movie tickets (at five paisa per ticket) and admission to racecourses (50 paisa per ticket) from 1964 till July 1968.

While people went to the movies to see new films, the main attraction of horse races was betting on them. That means that Minar-e-Pakistan was funded, in part, by people eager to go to the racecourse to gamble.

The monument is said to have been constructed at an estimated cost of Rs. 705,8000

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Article source: https://www.samaa.tv/news/2019/03/construction-of-minar-e-pakistan-was-partly-funded-by-people-going-to-gamble-at-racecourses/