Bhutto's legacy attracts followers from all generations

Lahore: There is an interesting fact about the gathering in Naudero, Sindh, to mark the 30th anniversary of the hanging of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on April 4, 1979: Many of those who boarded the trains or coaches that set out from Lahore and other cities many kilometres away from Bhutto's home town were born well after his death.

A large number of those who made the pilgrimage were teenagers, while others were in their 20s. Some had been pressured into going to Sindh by local leaders of the Pakistan Peoples Party, who were eager to please their superiors by organising a big turnout. But others felt strong emotion, some attachment with a man who died before they came into the world.

The day Bhutto died lives on in the memory of almost all who were alive to see it. Even those who were little more than toddlers can recall the sudden sense of gloom. A few celebrated, but the vast majority mourned.

The hanging of Bhutto, on a murder charge many believe was contrived, marked the end of an era. Pakistan had previously been a lighter-hearted place, despite its many troubles. The years under the Mohammad Zia ul Haq dictatorship ended this time, introducing the extremism the country now lives with.

"We know that Bhutto stood by people. He was for the poor. That's why we are going," said Rafiq Mohammad, 25, as he boarded a south-bound train at Lahore's colonial rail station.

The legacy Bhutto left behind is a powerful one. It has remained intact even though the death of Benazir Bhutto in December 2007 meant the Pakistan People's Party has changed beyond recognition. Many now see it as a party hijacked by a single man, Asif Ali Zardari, to suit his own purposes.

What is it then that continues to draw people to the Bhuttos - a family whose personal story is a tragic one? Close to Bhutto's own grave are those of three of his four children - all dead before their time. His widow lives on in the haze of chronic sickness. The tale of murder and violence that marks the Bhutto legend adds to the aura of the family.

"They are saints. That is what I believe," said Sadiq Ahmad, 70, who carries a photograph of Bhutto in his pocket.

The reverence so many feel for Bhutto is explained partly by the fact that he, and the party he founded, in its earliest days at least, made people feel empowered.