KARACHI, Oct 21: PPP activists who are under treatment at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) after sustaining serious injuries in the Oct 18 bomb blasts expressed their joy and elation upon seeing Benazir Bhutto coming to their beds to inquire about their health.

“My all wounds are healed, my whole pain has gone, I am healthier than ever,” Imran Dahote, one of the 5,000 members of the Janisaran-i-Benazir, a force established by the PPP, said when Ms Bhutto visited him in Ward No.17 of the JPMC. Dahote, a resident of Khairpur Mirs district, said: “She thanked me and other party colleagues for protecting her life and said she was proud of us.” He said the attack did not demoralize PPP cadre. “Her arrival has strengthened all of us, the party and democracy in Pakistan at large,” he said.

Irfan Bhutto, another party worker and a private security guard by profession hailing from Khairpur Mirs has sustained wounds on almost his entire body. He had splinters fractured both of his legs. His head, arms and chest also bear marks of injuries.“I felt as if my physical and mental trauma is over the moment I saw Mohtarama standing in front of me,” he mumbled with joy. “I pray to Allah to give her success and foil all conspiracies being hatched by her enemies,” he said.Mohammad Jaffer, another member of the PPP force hailing from Gilgit, said he was concerned about Mohtarama’s safety.“I would have been as committed to her and the party as I am even if she had not visited me here. Her life is too precious for all of us,” Jaffer, who has got a masters degree in Criminology from the University of Karachi, said.

Abdur Rauf Kanhar, another survivor of the suicide bombing, had no different sentiments.Ms Bhutto also distributed envelopes containing Rs5,000 as a token of her gratitude towards the commitment of the party workers. “I will never spend it… it’s the greatest asset of my life,” Kanhar said waving the envelope.