ISLAMABAD

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Aseefa Bhutto Zardari said yesterday that her moth­er Benazir Bhutto’s death had made time standstill.

In a post on X, she says: “Remembering our mother, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, on the anniversary of that dark day in 2007. It’s been 16 years, yet the pain of her loss lingers as if time stands still. Her laughter, ad­vice, and loving embrace are missed every day. Her loss is a void that time cannot heal, and it has left behind a home that will never be the same.”

She added: “For the people, it has been 16 years since they lost their strongest advocate. A voice for the downtrodden and oppressed silenced by the forces of ha­tred, greed, and oppression. 16 years on and we still wait for justice.” Benazir Bhut­to, born on June 21, 1953, was a promi­nent Pakistani politician and stateswoman. She served as the 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan, holding office from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 1996.

She made history as the first woman elected to lead a democratic government in a Muslim-majority na­tion. Bhutto identified as a liberal and a secularist, and she played a significant role in chairing or co-chairing the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) from the early 1980s until her tragic assassina­tion in 2007. On the morn­ing of December 27, 2007, Bhutto held a meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Later in the day, she delivered a speech at a PPP rally in Rawalpindi’s Liaquat National Bagh. While depart­ing in a bulletproof vehicle, she opened the escape hatch, standing to wave at the crowds. Within close prox­imity, a man fired three gun­shots and detonated a suicide vest filled with ball bearings. Bhutto sustained fatal inju­ries, with conflicting reports on whether it was from bul­lets or shrapnel. Twenty-two others also lost their lives. Rushed to Rawalpindi Gener­al Hospital, she was clinically dead on arrival, and resusci­tation attempts failed.

Without an autopsy, the body was swiftly transport­ed to Chaklala Air Base and buried next to her father in the Bhutto family mauso­leum the following day. Yes­terday, a prayer ceremony was held in Islamabad un­der the supervision of the Incharge of the Pakistan Peoples Party Central Sec­retariat, Syed Sabtain Hyder Bukhari, commemorating the martyrdom anniversary of Benazir Bhutto on De­mocracy Day. The ceremony, which was organized by the Secretary-General of the Pakistan Peoples Party, Syed Nayyar Hussain Bukhari, saw a significant participa­tion of workers from the PPP, Allied Wings, and sup­porters, reaffirming their commitment to the philoso­phy and ideology of Bhutto. The main death anniversary event was held In Larkana.