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PPP members at Jalasat Restuarant on the occasion of Benazir Bhutto's 63rd birthday in Dubai. Image Credit: Ahmed Ramzan/Gulf News

Dubai: The slain former prime minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, was remembered by her supporters in the UAE for her sacrifices for democracy and for the poor people of the country.

A group of people, who worked closely with Bhutto while she had lived in self-exile in the UAE for about eight years, organised an event on Tuesday in Dubai to mark the 63rd birth anniversary of their leader. Bhutto was killed in a bomb and gun attack after an election rally in Rawalpindi on December 27, 2007, months after her return from Dubai.

Speaking at the event, Sardar Javed Yaqoob, adviser to the Prime Minister of Pakistan-Administered Kashmir, said that Bhutto would live in their heart forever. “Her legacy will continue as she will be remembered in the world for her fight against military dictatorship, restoring democracy and raising voice for the poor in Pakistan,” he said.

Yaqoob recalled her days spent with Bhutto while she lived in Dubai and said: “Our leader was very kind to the party workers and always listened to them on political issues. She was very equally compassionate towards her children and party workers.” He said that Bhutto’s son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who is now the chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), is leading from the front to realise the dreams of her mother to have a corruption-free Pakistan.

Other senior PPP supporters who spoke at the event included Mian Muneer Hans, Syed Sajjad Shah, Saima Amir Khan, Raja Mujtaba and Prince Iqbal.

Hans said that Bhutto’s mission to strengthen democracy in Pakistan should continue because she embraced martyrdom for this noble cause.

Sajjad Shah said that people of Pakistan need another leader like Benazir Bhutto to solve the current political and economic crisis.