Bhutto arrives at father's tomb
Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto visited her ancestral village today to pay respects at her father’s tomb, her first trip outside Pakistan’s biggest city since an assassination attempt against her killed 143 people nine days ago.
Hundreds of supporters ran toward Bhutto’s convoy, kicking up clouds of dust, as she arrived in the village of Garhi Khuda Baksh after a 100km (60-mile) road trip from the airport at the southern city of Sukkur, which she flew to from Karachi.
Hundreds of armed private security guards in the village surrounded the white-domed marble mausoleum, cordoning off the area and forbidding entry even to police.
After waving to bystanders from her SUV's sunroof with black metal sheets on either side of her, Bhutto, wearing her trademark white headscarf, stepped down from the vehicle, which was flanked by paramilitary troops in white pickup trucks with machine guns mounted on top. Other security guards clung to the sides of the SUV.
She stepped directly inside the mausoleum to pay her respects to her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Pakistan’s first popularly elected leader who was overthrown by the military and hanged in 1979. She said prayers and sprinkled flower petals on his tomb and that of other ancestors there.
About 2,000 supporters waving the red, green and black flags of her Pakistan People’s Party waited outside.
Earlier, throngs of supporters greeted Bhutto as she landed at Sukkur airport. Crowds gathered around her vehicle before it sped away.
“It’s a long time since I’ve been here, and I thank God for giving me the opportunity to put my feet on my homeland once again, to see the love of my people. This has strengthened me to do what I can to save Pakistan by saving democracy,” she told reporters on the plane.
Bhutto returned to Pakistan on October 18 from an eight-year exile, after talks with President General Pervez Musharraf that could see them team up to fight Islamic extremism. A massive rally to welcome her was shattered by the suicide bombing as she inched through Karachi.
Before Bhutto’s visit to Garhi Khuda Baksh, party supporters sang and danced. Flags depicting Bhutto and her late father covered walls and hung from lamp posts.
Police chief Nisar Ahmed Channa in nearby Larkana city said 400 police were deployed to the area.
Since the bombing, Bhutto has spent most of her time behind reinforced doors in her Karachi residence. But on Friday she said she refused to be intimidated.
She said she would travel on to the cities of Lahore and Islamabad, and also wanted to go to Pakistan-controlled parts of Kashmir and remote areas along the Afghan border, where the Taliban and al-Qaida are tightening their grip.
Details of her schedule were not released because of security concerns, and some people were wary of going out to greet her.
“People seem to be scared after the suicide attacks, so I feel they will stay away from the rallies,” said farm shop worker Fida Hussain Sammu in Larkana.
Bhutto has accused elements in the government and security services of trying to kill her. She has demanded that international experts join the investigation - a call the government rejected.
The bombing has raised concerns that fear of more attacks would restrict campaigning for January parliamentary elections.
