KARACHI, Jan 12: Fatima Bhutto, the 25-year-old daughter of the slain PPP (SB) chief Mir Murtaza Bhutto, surprised residents of Lyari on Saturday when she visited several localities and mingled with people.

It was the first visit of a member of the Bhutto clan to the locality after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, who was widely popular among the residents.

There was no prior public announcement of the visit. Even the workers of the party were not aware of it.

During her three-hour-long stay, Ms Bhutto visited the areas of Khadda, Nawabad and Baghdadi, where she was greeted by a large number of men and women. She inquired from people about the civic problems and the gang warfare in the town.

When a senior worker of the party was contacted, he said Fatima Bhutto loved the Lyariites because of their devotion to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and his family and she wanted to reciprocate the sentiments of the residents of Lyari which they expressed at the time of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

He said she would soon visit more areas of Lyari Town.