Sunday, December 27, 2009

Pakistan observes Benazir's second anniversary

People across Pakistan on Sunday paid tributes to slain former premier Benazir Bhutto and offered special prayers on the second anniversary of her assassination even as her close aides called on the PPP-led government to identify and bring her killers to justice. The Pakistan People's Party organised special meetings and prayers in cities and towns all over the country, including Bhutto's ancestral town of Naudero in Sindh province, to commemorate her death anniversary. Bhutto's widower President Asif Ali Zardari, who is rarely seen in public, travelled to Naudero to participate in meetings there.

Zardari and his children Bilawal, who is chairman of the PPP, Bakhtawar and Asifa reached Naudero late last night. Bilawal and his siblings visited the graves of members of the Bhutto family at a mausoleum in Garhi Khuda Baksh amidst tight security arrangements. They visited the graves of their mother Benazir, grandfather Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and uncles Mir Murtaza and Shahnawaz and laid floral wreaths and offered 'fateha' or special prayers for the dead.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and several federal ministers paid tribute to Bhutto at her mausoleum in Garhi Khuda Baksh in Sindh this afternoon. They laid a 'chadar' and showered flowers on her grave before offering 'fateha'. Gilani said the best way to pay respect to Benazir Bhutto was to carry forward the mission undertaken by her and her father. The constitution of 1973 framed by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto will be restored to its original form and the government will take all measures to strengthen the federation through politics of reconciliation.

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