Manzoor Ali Memon, spokesperson of Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, told the TOI over phone that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has declared the ancestral house of the actor in Peshawar's Qissa Khawani Bazaar as national heritage.

Memon added that the government would turn the house into a museum that would depict the journey of the legendary actor from Peshawar to Mumbai. A gallery would also be dedicated to the actor.

The Pakistani government would also invite Dilip Kumar for the inauguration ceremony.  Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit had even met the actor in the first week of June.

"The PM's decision is testimony to the enormous importance Pakistan attaches to promoting art and culture and paying tribute to living legends like Dilip Kumar, whose contributions to the sub-continent cinema are unparalleled," said Basit.

Dilip Kumar was born on Dec 11, 1922, in Qissa Khawani Bazaar, Peshawar, in a Pakhtun family of 12 children.

The legend entertained millions of people in his active years in cinema and always propagated the message of love, peace and humanity throughout his life.(Dawn)/KH