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Thousands mourn Pakistan's Bhutto, two years on
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Thousands mourn Pakistan's Bhutto, two years on
AFP - Monday, December 28
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Thousands mourn Pakistan's Bhutto, two years on
GARHI KHUDA BAKHSH, Pakistan (AFP) - – Thousands flocked to the tomb of Pakistan's late premier Benazir Bhutto on Sunday, mourning the second anniversary of her killing and demanding her assassins be brought to justice.
Loyalists from across Pakistan converged on the grave in southern Garhi Khuda Bakhsh village under tight security, wailing in grief but lashing out at the government run by Bhutto's widower President Asif Ali Zardari.
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 Rawalpindi, a garrison city near the capital Islamabad.
Crowds of men, women and children cried, beat their chests, recited the Koran and chanted slogans demanding that the government arrest Bhutto's killers, said an AFP reporter.
Mourners poured through the gates into the mausoleum, taking flowers and some picking 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 travelled about 100 kilometres (60 miles) to make the visit.
Sunday's anniversary comes with the government suffering poor ratings over militant attacks, perceived tardiness in implementing reform and the expiry of an amnesty that had protected Zardari and senior politicians from charges.
Speaking to Pakistan People's Party loyalists at nearby Naudero, Zardari used a rare public address to defend his rule, seeking to contain what could be the most serious challenge to his troubled 15 months in power.
The president, four cabinet ministers and 8,000 bureaucrats, politicians, businessmen and others risk legal action after the Supreme Court last week annulled a two-year amnesty protecting them from corruption charges.
The fallout has sparked calls for Zardari to resign, rocking the US-backed civilian government at a time of rising extremist attacks and mounting pressure from Washington to crack down on Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
"Do not think that we are weak. Do not consider our tolerance our weakness. We know how to fight, but a tussle between institutions will weaken Pakistan. You know what happened in Afghanistan and Iraq," said Zardari.
Thousands of police and paramilitary troops enforced strict security, while Zardari and his three children visited the grave in private late Saturday.
"Thousands are coming and going. Although we had no specific threat, we planned to cope with a general threat perception and security (forces) are in the thousands," police official Ghayas Shirazi told AFP.
But the number of mourners were meagre compared to the hundreds of thousands who flocked to the grave on the first anniversary, and there were complaints from ordinary people initially held back from entering the mausoleum.
"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.
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, criticised 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.
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.
He said that the UN commission, which is limited to fact-finding and was due to submit a report by year-end, 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.
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