ISLAMABAD, Dec 30: Quran Khawani, funeral prayers in absentia, memorial meetings and candle vigils in the twin cities and their adjacent towns on Sunday marked the third day of PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto’s slaying outside a rally ground in Rawalpindi.
Quran Khawani was organised at more than a dozen places in the cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad in which a large number of people from all walks of life prayed to Allah Almighty to rest the departed soul of the slain leader in eternal peace.
The Pakistan People’s Party central secretariat in Islamabad, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf’s residence and the Quaid-i-Azam University were some of the places where people prayed for the former prime minister.
Scores of locals also offered funeral prayers in absentia for Ms Bhutto at different places including, T&T Centre Chowk and Khana.
In another form of remembrance, PPP activists and supporters light up candles at the party secretariat in the capital city to pay homage to Ms Bhutto. Floral wreaths were also laid in front of a large portrait of the slain PPP chairperson.
Amid touching scenes of people crying uncontrollably, some activists also chanted anti-Musharraf slogans.
In Rawalpindi, PPP supporters holding candles in their hands gathered outside the Rawalpindi General Hospital (RGH) Sunday night and demanded that the hospital should be renamed “Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Hospital”.
They also gathered outside the Liaquat Bagh and laid flowers there. They also called for giving the park’s out gate the new name of “Bab-i-Benazir”.
Meanwhile, the Markazi Anjuman Tajraan held a condolence meeting in the federal capital for the late PPP leader. The participants expressed profound grief and sorrow over the killing of Ms Bhutto.
TAXILA: A Soyem was held at the residence of former federal minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan where special prayers and Quran Khawani were held for the grant of eternal peace to the deceased leader. A large number of people participated in the ceremony.
Meanwhile, talking to mediapersons in Taxila, PPP leader Sardar Shoaib Mumtaz urged the party workers, activists, supporters and sympathisers to show patience at this hour of immense grief.
CHAKWAL: Soyem of the slain Benazir Bhutto was held at the PPP office here and Quran Khawani was arranged on the occasion.
The PML-Q Chakwal also organised special prayers and Quran Khawani at its secretariat. Sardar Nawab Khan, a PML-Q candidate, participated in a Soyem arranged by the Pehlwan Group at the famous Chappar Bazaar in Chakwal.
GUJAR KHAN: Speaking to a large number of party workers and people attending a Soyem in Sohawa, PPP candidate in PP-24 constituency, Syed Hassan Ahmed Bokhari, demanded that an independent enquiry into the assassination of the party chairperson should be conducted.
The PPP activists also brought out a protest rally in Sohawa on Sunday.
ATTOCK: Like other parts of the country, Qul of assassinated PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto was held at the house of the PPP’s central leader Malik Hakmeen Khan.
Besides party workers and leaders, a large number of people from all walks of life participated in the Qul.
After Quran Khawani, a collective prayer was offered by the participants for the departed soul of Benazir Bhutto.
Speaking on the occasion, the PPP leaders, including candidate for PP-15 seat and president of the PPP in Attock tehsil, Malik Shahan Khan, said the tragic assassination of Ms Bhutto could prove a disaster for the country.
MURREE: People mourning the death of Ms Bhutto marched in procession around the Kenaan Park on Sunday.
Dua was also offered for the former prime minister.
On the occasion, PPP activists rejected the interior ministry’s account of the shooting and bombing of the party rally in Rawalpindi, and said their leader was killed in a “well conceived plan”.
Party leader Shafqat Abbasi said Ms Bhutto had given the names of suspected plotters of the October 18 bomb blasts to the authorities but no action was taken against them.
