PPP Germany led by Syed Zahid Abbas Shah observes Benazir Bhutto’s death anniversary, pledges to continue her mission

Frankfurt:  People’s Party (PPP) Germany chapter led by Syed Zahid Abbas Shah observed the death anniversary of two-time Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto with a pledge to continue her mission.

The ceremonies were held in Frankfurt, Hamburg, Berlin, Gottingen and Ulm. The party’s central organization, the Kashmir community and other social and welfare organizations participated in the prayers.

Farid Shah, Central Information Secretary and President of Hamburg also played a lead role. Tributes were paid to Benazir Bhutto Shaheed and prayers were offered for her departed soul.

Speaking on the occasion, Syed Zahid Abbas Shah said Benazir Bhutto Shaheed rendered great sacrifices for democracy it was because of her that democratic norms were flourishing in the country.

He said as the first woman prime minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto struggled hard for the development of the country when she assumed power in 1988 and 1993, respectively.

The PPP Germany President said PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto was the political heir of Benazir Bhutto and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and would lead the people and pull the country out of the existing crisis.

Benazir Bhutto became the first female prime minister of Pakistan, and the first woman to lead a Muslim nation, in 1988. She went on to serve two terms as the prime minister of the nation.

During her career, Benazir Bhutto was celebrated in the west as a beacon of democracy and much-feted for her glamorous reputation. People magazine named her one of the world’s 50 most beautiful people.

In the region, she was idolised by supporters as a champion for women’s rights. Bhutto studied at Cambridge, Harvard and Oxford. She took over the reins of the PPP in 1987, years after its founder, her father, was executed by Gen Zia ul-Haq.

After her last term ended in 1996, besieged by corruption allegations, she left the country, only to return years later in 2007 to public celebrations.

It was during one of her public rallies, leading up to the 2008 elections, that Bhutto was first attacked by terrorists who had planted two bombs in the crowd. Bhutto survived that attack, which killed 149 people, but in another rally two months later, on December 27 in Rawalpindi, her car came under fire, before a suicide bomber detonated nearby. Bhutto died in her car.