KARACHI: Abbas Zulfiqar was in his mid-20s and engaged to be married soon, but his life was cut short by the suicide bombing on the night of Oct 18. Working at the Korangi fish harbour with his father, he lived in a modest rented house in Bhitai Colony.

His body was driven to his hometown of Shorekot near Faisalabad in Punjab on Friday.

As PPP leader Benazir Bhutto’s arrival had attracted party supporters from far and wide, Abbas also accompanied his friends from the fishermen’s village of Ibrahim Hyderi to welcome their leader. He must have been fairly close to the vehicle that bore Ms Bhutto and other party leaders, who survived the attack which killed at least 135 people and wounded several hundred more.

There were reports that Abbas had received a pellet in the back, but doctors attributed his death to heart failure that might have been caused by the shock of the explosion.

As he was the major contributor to the household’s finances, his death has left the family poorer in more ways than one.

A few local PPP leaders and activists who attended his funeral prayer here had his name registered at Bilawal House, apparently so that the family could be considered for assistance later. But no immediate relief has been forthcoming for the bereaved family, who had to leave all of a sudden to intern their beloved son back in Shorekot.

Abbas was, of course, just one of the many participants of the massive procession, who were both hungry and thirsty but marched along their leader’s motorcade. There was no arrangement for food or drinking water for the poor enthusiasts. There were vendors selling fruit juice at places, which the poor marchers could hardly afford. People having arrived from upcountry were reportedly served breakfast in the morning but were advised to wait till the procession would reach Bilawal House to get the next meal. However, they all marched on, hoping against hope that this time their leader might deliver on her promises.

There is no report of any important leader having suffered serious injuries, except for Murad Ali Shah, who was hit by shrapnel in one of his legs. Most of the dead and wounded were from Lyari, Malir, small goths and low-income upcountry areas. Besides, casualties were suffered by the security guards and policemen protecting the PPP leaders.

Benazir has reiterated that she will transform the lives of the poor of the country. She has also stated that she will live and die with her poor countrymen.

Well, so far only the poor have died. Can she help rehabilitate the families whose lives have been derailed by the death of their loved ones?