LARKANA: A ceremony was held at the Bhuttos’ mausoleum in Garhi Khuda Bukhsh Bhutto on Thursday to mark the third death anniversary of Begum Nusrat Bhutto.

Speaking at the ceremony, her grandson and Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari paid homage to the former first lady and lauded her role in helping her spouse, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, in forming the country’s most popular party.

Also read: Tit-for-tat: PPP 'destroyed' Karachi, MQM claims

He said Begum Bhutto had not only strived for democracy but also stood against dictatorship and dictators.

She had struggled to keep the PPP intact during the dictatorial rule with bravery and boldness, he said, adding that she also wrote the history of MRD (Movement for the Restoration of Democracy).

Mr Bhutto-Zardari invi­t­ed all political parties to join hands with the PPP in making Pakistan a democratic, peaceful and progressive country.

He reiterated his party’s resolve to work with any political party to strengthen democracy, and said the PPP was very much in a position to form a government alone but it took the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and other parties along for the sake of democracy.

He said the PPP would continue with its reconciliation policy as it did not believe in revenge.

He said Takht-i-Sharif (Nawaz government) kept (PPP co-chairperson) Asif Zardari behind bars for 12 years where he had been subjected to torture but the PPP did not take revenge.

On Wednesday night, the PPP chairman addressed a select gathering of Hindus held at Naudero House to mark the festival of Diwali.

PPP leaders including Faryal Talpur, Nisar Khuhro, Ayaz Soomro, Agha Siraj Durrani, Ramesh Lal, Khursheed Junejo, Suhail Siyal, Banzir Bhutto’s sister Sanam Bhutto and a large number of party activists and workers attended the ceremony.

He said he was happy to be amongst the Hindus on the happy occasion.

“Religious fascists are brutally killing children in the United Stated and people in Palestine. Politicians in Pakistan, save PPP, are tight-lipped over the excesses, but world leaders are speaking against tyranny and condemning it,” he said.

Mr Bhutto-Zardari said the PPP believed that attacks on churches, temples and other places of worship were attacks on Garhi Khuda Bakhsh Bhutto, and called for concrete action to uproot terrorists who, according to him, sneaked into Sindh after fleeing Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.

“We will remain with Hindus in all ups and downs,” he declared.

The PPP chief said that ‘liberal fascists’ were out in Karachi to use ‘Zia’s laws’ against Sindhis but Marsoon marsoon Karachi na daisoon (we will lay down our lives but will never give up Karachi).

Hindu Panchayat Committee Larkana chairperson Kalpna Devi announced her joining the PPP on the occasion.

MNA Faryal Talpur welcomed Ms Devi and the several hundred Hindu families coming from across Larkana division to Naudero House for participation in Diwali celebration.

Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani and Senior Minister for Education Nisar Ahmed Khuhro also spoke.

Mr Bhutto-Zardari along with Mr Durrani, Mr Khuhro and MNA Ramesh Lal visited the a dhramshala on Station Road that was attacked and set ablaze on March 16.

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2014

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