60th Birthday of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto

On the eve of the birthday of late Benazir Bhutto

, President Asif Ali Zardari visited her grave here on Thursday. He laid floral wreath, offered fateha and also recited verses from the Holy Quran. The President was accompanied by his younger daughter Aseefa Zardari. He also visited the grave of the founder of Pakistan People’s Party Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, laid floral wreath and offered fateha. He also visited the graves of Begum Nusrat Bhutto, Mir Murtaza Bhutto and Mir Shahnawaz Bhutto. On the occasion, he also visited the Mazar Complex and its various sections. Meanwhile, Pakistan Peoples Party patron-in-chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has congratulated the party workers inside and outside the country and the nation on the 60th birth anniversary of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto on June 21 (today). He called upon them to reiterate their commitment to the democratic values, she stood and fought for. In his message, he said that the birthday celebrations this year coincide with yet another triumph of democracy as the nation witnessed, for the first time ever, democratic transition in the country. “We are proud that a dream of her has come true.” According to Bilawal House, party’s chief said that it was a measure of her commitment to democratic ideals that when the people’s mandate was stolen and the party had only 17 members in the National Assembly, she decided to pursue the path of democratic struggle. She strengthened the parliament through active participation and refused to listen to those who wanted her to reject the parliament and adopt the path of agitation. A few weeks before her assassination she advised the people: “Please continue fight against extremism, dictatorship, poverty and ignorance.” Following in her footsteps, our democracy-loving people will make Pakistan a country of moderation and pluralism where ballot and not bullet will determine the ultimate choice of the people, he said. “Shaheed Benazir lives in the hearts of the people. Those who think that by removing her name from a national programme of poverty alleviation and women emancipation will make people forget her are gravely mistaken. They are doomed to fail in their efforts,” he added. On this occasion, let us also remember all our martyrs. Our brave soldiers and members of law-enforcement agencies have laid down their lives so that the nation lives without any fear. The martyrs of democracy have suffered incarceration, exile, torture and executions. We salute them all on this day, he said.