Rich tributes paid to former PM Benazir Bhutto

KARACHI: The University of Karachi on Friday arranged a ceremony to pay tribute to the former Prime Minister  Benazir Bhutto at the Valika Cricket Ground of Karachi University.

Addressing the ceremony the senior Pakistan Peoples’ Party leader Professor N. D. Khan said Benazir Bhutto was not only the first female prime minister of Pakistan but she was also the first woman leader of any Muslim state. She represented the country with immense potential and always works hard for its development and success.

Benazir Bhutto was elected twice as the PM Pakistan and when the general public was looking at her to once again lead the country, she was assassinated in the broad daylight in Rawal Pindi.

Professor Khan recalled that Benazir Bhutto was gun downed at the same place where the first elected prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan was shot dead in 1951.

He observed that this is so unfortunate that we have not maintained the history of our leaders, we have not preserved their records and we do not have much detail about political activities and personal lives of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Liaquat Ali Khan, Z. A. Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto in shape of books or documentaries.

Professor N. D. Khan asked the Benazir Bhutto Chair, University of Karachi, to do in-depth research on different aspects of Benazir Bhutto’s life and share it with masses. He also urged to do research about the leaders of Pakistan so that the young generation would be able to know how much struggle those leaders have faced for the development of our motherland.

Another speaker, Secretary Szabist Trust, Dr Salman Ahmed Shaikh, sheds light on Benazir Bhutto’s vision and said she was the true role model for Pakistani women.

Seasoned journalist, Mahmood Sham, observed that December 27 is one the blacklist day in the history of the country. He said that Benazir Bhutto introduces the concept of reconciliation in the political culture and want to promote it but, unfortunately, she was assassinated in the public place.

The Dean, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, KU, Professor Dr Nasreen Aslam Shah, said that being the acting director Benazir Bhutto Chair, she would use all available resources to collect all aspects of Benazir Bhutto’s life and would make it public.

The Director, Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, KU, Professor Saleem Memon, said that the assassination of Benazir Bhutto was one of the most tragic incidents we have witnessed to date.

The KU Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Khalid Mahmood Iraqi said that Benazir Bhutto till her last breath was trying to provide equal rights to Muslims and non-Muslims, men and women of the country.