PPP observes ZAB's 46th death anniversary today

Bilawal scheduled to address a public rally in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh

KARACHI:

The PPP will observe the 46th death anniversary of party founder, late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (ZAB), with a public rally in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh on Friday (today), which will be addressed by Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

PPP Sindh General Secretary and Special Assistant to the Chief Minister, Waqar Mehdi, told The Express Tribune on Thursday that President Asif Ali Zardari would not address the public gathering due to ill health.

Mehdi said that preparations for the anniversary had been finalized, as caravans of people from across the country had started arriving in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh. Strict security arrangements had also been made for the anniversary.

A series of anniversary events will begin in the morning with the recitation of the Holy Quran and fateha. This will be followed by Naat Khawani and a mushaira. The public gathering will start at 5pm, beginning with speeches from various party leaders and concluding with Bilawal's address.

On the anniversary, Bilawal and Zardari paid rich tributes to the late party founder and pledged to continue his mission of making Pakistan a developed, independent, and people-friendly country.

In their separate messages, they said that Shaheed Bhutto revolutionized the country's economy, agriculture, and industrial sector, empowering the working class. They added that ZAB gifted Pakistan a progressive and unanimous Constitution and strengthened the country's defence with nuclear technology.

We pay tribute to Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the first directly elected prime minister of Pakistan, whose leadership resurrected a defeated nation from the ashes of despair," Bilawal said. "In 1971, Shaheed Bhutto took charge with an unbreakable resolve," he added.

"He stabilized a broken country, uplifted the nation's spirit, and set Pakistan on the path of progress. His diplomatic brilliance secured the release of 90,000 war prisoners from Indian captivity."