The tower was designed and supervised by, Nasreddin Murat-Khan a Russian-born Pakistani architect and civil engineer. The foundation stone was laid on 23 March 1960. Construction took eight years and was completed on 21 October 1968 at an estimated cost of Rs 7,058,000. The money was collected by imposing an additional tax on cinema and horse racing tickets at the demand of Akhter Husain, governor of West Pakistan. Today, the minaret provides a panoramic view to visitors who can climb up the stairs or access the top, by means of an elevator. The parks around the monument include marble fountains and an artificial lake.

The base is about 8 meters above the ground. The tower rises about 62 meters on the base, the total height of the minar is about 70 meters above the ground. The unfolding petals of the flower-like base are 9 meters high. The diameter of the tower is about 9.75 meters. The rostrum is built of patterned tiles and faces Badshahi Mosque. The base comprises four platforms. To symbolize the humble beginning of the freedom struggle, the first platform is built with uncut stones from Taxila, the second platform is made of hammer-dressed stones, whereas the third platform is chiseled stones. Polished white marble at the fourth and final platform depicts the success of the Pakistan Movement.

At the base, there are floral inscriptions on ten converging white marble Commemorative plaques. The inscriptions include the text of Lahore Resolution in Urdu, Bengali, and English, and the Delhi Resolution's text, which was passed on 9 April 1946. On different plaques, Quranic verses and 99 names of Allah are inscribed in Arabic calligraphy, whereas National Anthem of Pakistan in Urdu and Bengali, excerpts from the speeches of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, in Urdu, Bengali, and English, along with few couplets of Allama Iqbal include the other important inscriptions.