Families remember loved ones lost with BB
PHOTO: REUTERS
The families of 23 activists martyred in a terrorist attack in Liaquat Bagh 14 years ago along with former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, continue to reel under the pain of losing loved ones.
The victim families wait for Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to visit them to soothe away their pain.
The late Benazir Bhutto’s death anniversary will be held at the homes of the martyrs of the Liaquat Bagh tragedy on Monday (today) in remembrance of the fateful day that snuffed out so many precious lives. The victim families say they continue to miss their loved ones who fell victim to the horrific blast that claimed the life of the former prime minister.
The late Rafiq Raza, known as Kala Khan and Sheikh Javed belonged to Naya Muhala, Muhammad Shafiq hailed from Amarpura and Sarj Khan who succumbed to injuries hailed from Dhok Mantagal. Ghulam Ghaus and Sattar Khan were from Mazharabad and Hasnain Ashraf from Railway Locoshade Colony. After the fateful incident, families and especially women had to face difficulty in raising their children before the party stepped in to help the families make a living.
The children of most of the victims have been able to get an education with the financial support of the party which remained steadfast in lending support to the victim families.
Nasir Mir, a longtime activist of the Pakistan People's Party and a former deputy nazim from the Dhok Rata, said: "The family members of those martyred in the tragedy of Liaquat Bagh continue to remain affiliated with the party even today. Personally, the party leaders also keep in touch with these families, he said.
Like the former prime minister, other leaders of the Pakistan People's Party from Rawalpindi are no longer in this world and they are Gen (retd) Tika Khan, Aga Riaz Salam (former mayor, former MPA), Sultan Mahmood Qazi, Rashid Mir, Nazar Hussain Kayani (former MNA, former MPA), Syed Zakir Hussain Shah (former MPA), Mushtaq Butt, Qayyum Butt (former MNA), former deputy mayor Riaz Shahzad, PSF founder Chacha Safdar Hamdani, Khurshid Hassan Mir (former MNA) and Abdul Islam Butt (former minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 27th, 2021.