LONDON: Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party ( PPP ) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari paid glowing tributes to his late grandfather Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto at an event held in London to observe the 36th anniversary of the hanging of Prime Minister Bhutto by General Zia-ul-Haq on April 4, 1979 after a controversial murder trial termed by human rights organizations as “judicial murder”.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said he was proud to be a student at the Christ Church College in the University of Oxford where Shaheed Bhutto also studied.
The PPP Chairman said his grandfather Bhutto and late mother Shaheed Benazir Bhutto sacrificed their lives for the sake of a democratic and pluralistic Pakistan.
He said ” Our identity is as descendants of South Asia with the culture of Sufi Islam promoting pluralistic tendencies.”
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari blamed the draconian martial law of General Zia-ul-Haq for spawning a culture of bigotry, intolerance, and religious extremism in the moderate, tolerant and pluralistic Pakistani society.
He said it was the same poisonous mindset nurtured by General Zia that finally resulted in the creation of a number of extremist militant organisations and the Taliban who assassinated Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.
The PPP Chairman also paid tributes to ” Shaheed Salman Taseer, Shaheed Shahbaz Bhatti, Shaheed Aitzaz Hassan of Hangu, and Malala Yousafzai,” saying ” they represent the true face of the Pakistani society which is tolerant and pluralistic. General Zia and Osama bin Laden are not the face of Pakistan.”
He said ” Though General Zia managed to hang Prime Minister Bhutto, the dictator could not silence his voice. I still hear the voice of Shaheed Bhutto in the anguished heart of every persecuted Pakistani.”
He added ” Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto continues to live in the hearts of the people of Pakistan and he still inspires and motivates those who believe in creating a democratic, tolerant, peaceful and poverty free Pakistan.” ( Web Desk )
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