GARHI KHUDA BAKHSH: More than 5,000 loyalists flocked to the tomb of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on Sunday Dec 27, mourning the second anniversary of her assassination and demanding her killers be brought to justice.

People from across Pakistan converged on the grave in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh village under tight security, wailing in grief.

Bhutto, the first woman to become prime minister of a Muslim country, was killed on December 27, 2007 in a gun and suicide attack after addressing an election rally in Liaquat Bagh, a landmark park in Rawalpindi.

The crowd of men, women and children cried, beat their chests, recited the Quran and chanted slogans demanding that the government arrest Bhutto’s killers.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani showered her grave with rose petals and prayed with cabinet ministers, before paying respects at the tomb of Bhutto’s father, former premier Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto executed in 1979.

‘Benazir sacrificed her life for her country, for her people and we will continue her mission by restoring the constitution in its true spirit and will empower the masses,’ Said Gilani in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh.

The government called for a UN inquiry into Bhutto’s killing after her party won a general election in February 2008 with supporters angered by conflicting accounts of how she died and who was responsible.

They cast doubt on a Pakistani probe into her death, criticized authorities for hosing down the scene of the attack within minutes — allegedly destroying evidence — and questioning whether she was killed by a gunshot or the blast.

The UN commission, which says its mandate is limited to fact-finding, was due to submit a report by year-end but has seen its mission extended.

‘The deadline for the UN team investigation has been extended for a month, after which the facts will be brought before the nation,’ said Gilani.

Sunday’s turnout was meagre compared to the hundreds of thousands who flocked to the grave on the first anniversary of her death.

Hundreds of police and paramilitary troops enforced strict security, initially barring the masses from visiting the grave until after Gilani’s visit.

Zardari and his three children visited the grave in private late Saturday.

‘We have intensified our security to protect people from any law and order situation,’ said senior police official Zulfiqar Tunio.

But there were complaints from ordinary mourners who took swipe at Zardari’s government.

‘The rulers have made Benazir a leader of the rich and she is no longer a leader of the poor as she was during her life,’ said Raheeman Bibi, 65.

‘We have come here to visit our leader’s grave but they are only allowing the rich and not the poor people like us,’ she added.

‘The government of our own party is preventing us from visiting her grave, which clearly shows they are fearing for their life,’ said Ghulam Shabbir, 55, carrying a party flag and a large framed photograph of Bhutto.

When the gates were later opened, mourners poured in taking flowers and some picked up petals from the grave as a souvenir.

‘I took some petals from Bibi’s grave because they are blessed, said Aamna Abro, using Bhutto’s nickname.

‘I’ll give them to my ailing mother. I believe they’ll cure her,’ added Abro, who had traveled about 100 kilometres to make the visit. (News sourced from:www.dawn.com)