Thousands of Pakistanis are gearing up to observe the first death anniversary of former premier Benazir Bhutto.
ISLAMABAD: Thousands of Pakistanis are gearing up to observe the first death anniversary of former premier Benazir Bhutto, whose Pakistan People's Party swept to power in polls soon after her assassination nearly a year ago.
The PPP-led government has declared a national holiday on December 27, the day Bhutto was assassinated by a suicide bomber shortly after she addressed an election rally in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.
The 54-year-old two-time former premier was killed barely two months after she returned to Pakistan from self-exile to lead the PPP's campaign for the general election.
She had earlier survived another attempt on her life by two suicide bombers hours after her return to the country.
The PPP has drawn up plans to hold special events across the country and particularly in the party's stronghold of Sindh, to commemorate Bhutto's first death anniversary.
Oxford-educated Bhutto was the first woman prime minister of a Muslim country. Her widower Asif Ali Zardari, who was made co-chairman of the PPP after her death, was elected President in September this year.
Zardari will lead mourners in paying tribute at Bhutto's mausoleum in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh in Sindh on Saturday.
Tributes will also be paid in several functions to be held across the country. Special security measures have been put in place at the mausoleum to protect Zardari, who faces a threat to his life from militant groups, including the local Taliban.
Bhutto's killing sparked widespread violence in Pakistan, especially in Sindh that continued for several days and brought the country to a standstill.
Authorities in Sindh have taken special measures to ensure that there are no untoward incidents during the anniversary. Television channels have been airing special shows on Bhutto and Geo News channel claimed it would make "stunning revelations" about her assassination in a new programme.
The PPP is also expected to use the occasion to review the functioning of the party and its government at the centre and in three of Pakistan's four provinces.
Zardari has convened a meeting of the party's central executive committee in Bhutto's family hometown of Naudero on December 26.
In a message read out at a recent memorial meeting organised by PPP activists in London, Zardari said Bhutto "carried on her shoulders the dream of the people for a prosperous, united and peaceful Pakistan".
"The dictators and assassins may have removed her physically but they will never succeed in erasing her thoughts and memories now deeply etched in the hearts of the people of Pakistan," he added.
Observers say the challenges confronting the PPP-led government will require dedicated efforts to overcome. In addition to escalating tensions with India in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks, the government has to cope with a resurgent Taliban insurgency and a crippled economy.
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