Pro-people leadership

This year, I had the honor to visit Garhi Khuda Bakhsh, where an impressive ceremony was organized in connection with the 16th martyrdom anniversary of Ms Benazir Bhutto, the first woman prime minister of Pakistan and the Islamic world.

Given the upcoming general elections, the ceremony became the most pivotal and significant political power show, where people from all corners of the country and abroad, including her spouse Asif Ali Zardari, son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, gathered to pay tribute to her great personality. On the occasion, an ambitious 10-point election manifesto was also presented with an emphasis on the formation of a 'pro-people' government.

‘Jiye Bhutto’ slogans were echoing everywhere, whereas party anthems, especially ‘Dilan Teer Bajan’ were motivating the participants; every visitor was being warmly welcomed in the reception campus decorated with the three colored flags of the PPP.

Colourful banners of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and his daughter Benazir Bhutto highlight the universal fact that pro-people leaders never die. In my political career of more than two decades, although I participated in numerous political meetings and gatherings, spending some quality time at Garhi Bakhsh among party workers having diverse backgrounds was my real asset.

On the occasion, I also availed the opportunity to discuss the current political situation with various personalities, during which I explained the predictions of Vedic Astrology that the Raj Singhasan (throne) of Islamabad is awaiting a politician whose root number relates with 8 and 2, and zodiac horoscopes further predict Leo is the luckiest sign in the year 2024. Therefore, the victory in the upcoming elections to be held on the eighth day of the second month of the year 2024 with root number 8, is predicted for Asif Ali Zardari, whose zodiac sign is Leo; birth date is July 26 with the root number 8, and birth year is 1955 with the summation of 2.

Historically, Garhi Khuda Bakhsh is a village in the Larkana district of Sindh province, which was founded by Khuda Bakhsh Bhutto, the ancestor of the Bhutto family. However, today it is famous for being the final resting place of the Bhutto family who sacrificed their lives for Pakistan. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the first elected people's prime minister of Pakistan, his spouse Begum Nusrat Bhutto, her daughter Ms Benazir Bhutto, her sons Mir Murtaza Bhutto, Shahnawaz Bhutto and other family members are buried here.

Ms Benazir Bhutto, during her tenure in the 1990s, decided to transform the site into a grand mausoleum. A competition was held to finalize the design of the building whereas all the affairs were supervised by Ms Bhutto personally. She mentioned in her well-known book ‘Daughter of the East’ that she and her sister Sanam Bhutto did not want any member of the Bhutto family to face difficulty in the future to find the last resting place.

When Ms Benazir arrived in Karachi in October 2007 and a horrific terror attack occurred, she made arrangements to bury all unidentified martyrs, declaring them as Bhutto, in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh graveyard and ensured her presence there on a priority basis. Her practical love for Bhutto's supporters and party workers deserves to be written in golden letters in history. In an unfortunate terror attack at a jalsa in Rawalpindi, she lost her precious life just after two months and shifted here permanently to Garhi Khuda Bakhsh.

While visiting Benazir Shaheed's last resting place in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh, I prayed for the peace of her soul. At that moment, I started recalling with tearful eyes the entire tireless struggle Mohtarma did for the betterment of people, even the sacrifice of her precious life is an unforgettable event in our national history. Numerous hurdles were put in her way, but Shaheed Rani always promoted parliamentary politics in accordance with the constitution.

Although Benazir Bhutto Shaheed is not present among us today, the huge presence of people in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh shows that Benazir Shaheed lives in the hearts of millions of people forever.

The writer is a former member of the National Assembly and patron-in-chief of the Pakistan Hindu Council. He tweets/posts @RVankwani