ISLAMABAD, Nov 13: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Thursday finalised a month-long programme to commemorate Benazir Bhutto’s first death anniversary and announced a public holiday on Dec 27.

Starting from Nov 30, the commemoration activities will include a series of seminars, conventions and public meetings. A commemorative postal stamp and a coin will be issued to pay tribute to the party’s late chairperson.

The plan to mark the death anniversary of Ms Bhutto on Dec 27 and the party’s foundation day on Nov 30 was announced by PPP secretary-general Jahangir Badar after a joint meeting of the party’s central executive committee (CEC) and federal council (FC) held at the Prime Minister’s House. The party has also decided to hold a public meeting at Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi where Ms Bhutto was assassinated.

The party also plans to hold an international conference in Islamabad on Ms Bhutto’s services for the cause of democracy.

The dates for Liaquat Bagh public meeting and international conference will be announced later.

The party has also decided to nominate Ms Bhutto for Nobel prize in recognition of her services for democracy.

Replying to a question, Mr Badar said the Constitution did not require a president to quit a party office.

He, however, said that decision whether or not to quit the office of the party’s co-chairperson would be taken by President Asif Zardari himself.

Earlier, presiding over the meeting of the CEC and FC, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said the PPP had a unique status among political parties of South Asia because its leadership as well as workers had made innumerable sacrifices for democracy.

Mr Gilani said it was for the first time that the leader of the opposition had been made chairman of the Public Accounts Committee.

The prime minister said the PPP leadership and workers had rendered great sacrifices in the struggle for restoration of deposed judiciary and mentioned the name of Israr Shah who lost both his legs in the struggle.

Mr Gilani said the two biggest challenges confronting the government were to meet the threat of terrorism and to revive the economy.

Both the issues, he said, were inter-related as bomb blasts triggered flight of capital.

The prime minister said that election of Asif Ali Zardari as president by a two-third majority and of his own as prime minister by a unanimous vote demonstrated the confidence of the entire nation in the policies and leadership of the PPP.

He asked the members of the CEC, which includes federal and provincial ministers, to focus on providing basic health and education facilities to people in their areas.