LARKANA: The stage is set to observe the 14th death anniversary of slain Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Benazir Bhutto in Garhi Khuda Baksh Bhutto on Monday (today).

A 60-foot-wide main stage has been decorated with tri-colour party flags, banners and life-size portraits of former prime minister Ms Bhutto and other central leaders of the party.

Foolproof security along with extensive traffic arrangements has been ensured. According to security sources, 30 police officers of SSP level and 80 DSPs along with women police force would be deployed on the day.

Some 150 CCTV cameras have been installed and 70 walkthrough gates installed at the entry points of the venue.

A control room has been established at the main venue to monitor the public meeting which the party sources said would be addressed by PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and other key leaders.

Bilawal, other key leaders to address participants at Bhuttos’ mausoleum

Mr Bhutto-Zardari along with Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali on Sunday arrived at Naudero.

The party workers and admirers of the Bhutto family had started pouring in from different corners of the country.

Yaad-i-Benazir conference

Homage was paid to the slain PPP chairperson at a programme titled ‘Yaad-i-Benazir Conference’ held under the auspices of the party’s youth wing at the Sir Shahnawaz Bhutto Memorial Library.

Speakers said that the Oct 18 (Karsaz) and Dec 27 (Benazir’s assassination) tragedies were part of a single conspiracy, and demanded inclusion of the names of then Pakistan president Gen Pervez Musharraf and Sindh Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim in the investigation.

Presiding over the conference, Sindh PPP president Nisar Khuhro said that in order to gag the voice of people and snatch their right to rule, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was implicated in a false case and hanged. His daughter Benazir Bhutto was also assassinated to achieve the same objective, he said.

Bilawal’s political secretary Jamil Soomro, Khuhro’s spokesman Shakeel Memon, Sohrab Marri, Javed Nayab Leghari, Imran Jatoi, leaders of youth wing and others also spoke at the conference.

Book on Benazir assassination launched

On the eve of the 14th death anniversary of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, a book authored by former interior minister and senior PPP leader Senator A. Rehman Malik was launched in Islamabad on Sunday, adds Amir Wasim from the capital.

Titled The Assassination of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, the book reveals the conspiracy and facts behind the high-profile murder.

Published in English and Urdu, the book consists of 28 chapters carrying details of characters involved in the Liaquat Bagh, Rawalpindi, incident. It is available to people for free.

Speaking on the occasion, the writer said false impressions were given that the PPP government during its tenure [after Benazir’s assassination] had failed to investigate the case. All those involved in the murder of Ms Bhutto were identified, arrested, put on trial and even convicted, except for those who were killed in mysterious circumstances or absconded.

The arrested ones had been enlarged on bail, he regretted.

Published with the curtsey of the Institute of Research and Reforms (IRR), the book is dedicated to the Bhutto family and martyrs of the PPP.

Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2021