Karachi: Thousands of people gathered at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh, the ancestral graveyard of the Bhuttos, on Friday to mark the sixth anniversary of Benazir Bhutto, the former leader of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).
Some reached the spot by foot; others took the bus and trucks — turning the anniversary into a festival where Bhutto’s fans celebrated her life by dancing to the beats of a traditional drum, waving party flags and buying portraits of both her and her father, the late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.
Vendors outside the graveyard were seen selling talisman with tiny pictures of both the father and daughter, among other souvenirs.
On December 27, 2007, Benazir was assassinated in a shooting and bombing attack, which jolted the nation. Angry public set government and private properties ablaze across the country, bringing it to a grinding halt for weeks.
In an emotional speech Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the heir of Bhutto family, pledged to take his mother’s mission forward, advising people to move ahead instead of holding on to the past.
“I have learnt to live without my mother and you also learn to live without her,” Bilawal said. “I sacrificed my mother for you and for this country,” he said.
Addressing the disappointed and disgruntled party workers and supporters, Bilawal held out the pledge to bring back the party to its former self with the help of his two sisters — Asifa and Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari. The sisters plan to play active roles in the party.
“Me and my sisters would take part in practical politics before the next elections,” Bilawal said.
He added: “Our lives are in danger on every step but we have opted this dangerous path for you.”
Bilawal also pledged to fight against the rising terrorism in the country saying the terrorists were the biggest threat and challenge to Pakistan.
“We would confront those terrorists who are the enemy of humanity and I promise we would never step back,” he said.
He told people to support former president Asif Ali Zardari in the upcoming political war against terrorists.
“President Zardari has put his children’s lives in danger for your sake so now promise me to reciprocate with your support to protect this country from the clutches of tyrants,” he said.
Former president Zardari — in his reconciliatory speech — offered his support to the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif saying he would not call for any midterm elections or derail the democratic government.
For the visitors at the graveyard, these words were just empty promises for now. Most of them were angered by the fact that Benazir’s murderer was still not caught.
“We pinned hopes with the government but in the five-year rule nothing could be done for punishing the real culprits,” said Asif Chachar, a 30-year supporter of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), who had arrived to pay tribute to the slain leader.
“And now the hopes are waning,” he said.
Many of the visitors seemed to echo Chachar’s views.
Benazir’s supporters demanded that the attackers be punished as soon as possible.
The PPP leaders claimed that they had done their part by arresting many of the plotters; some were killed under mysterious circumstances.
“We have explored and exposed all the plotters [behind the killing] of our leader,” former interior minister Rehman Malik said.
“We found where the conspiracy was hatched in South Waziristan, we found how the attackers set off the suicide vests and where they stayed,” Malik said.
Malik said that three of the perpetrators were killed, including Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, who was hit by a US drone strike in war-torn Wazirstan.
“That implies that there must be someone behind the conspiracy who wanted their mouth shut,” Malik suggested.
Former president and army chief Pervez Musharraf — along with 13 other suspects – was also charged with Benazir’s murder.
The trial court granted Musharraf bail for this case.
