Benazir buried at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh

{image-benazibenazir last pic in rally13_28122007.jpg news.oneindia.in}Karachi, Dec 28: The dead body of former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was laid to rest in her family graveyard in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh this afternoon. Benazir"s relatives, friends, party leaders, workers were among the hundreds of thousands of people who were present during the burial ceremony, The News reported.

Earlier, Hafiz Hakim Ali Mangi led the namaz-e-janaza for Benazir. The body of Benazir was laid beside the grave of her father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto without ceremonial honours due to a former Head of Government. Benazir"s dead body was brought by a C-130 flight to Sukkur Airport from where it was taken to Moenjodaro by a helicopter. The dead body was taken then from Moenjodaro Airport to Garhi Khuda Bakhsh by an ambulance.

Along with the dead body of Benazir, her husband Asif Ali Zardari, sons Bakhtawar and Bilawal, daughter Asifa, central leader of the PPP Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Shery Rehman and other persons reached Larkana.

Benazir, 54, was shot at and killed by snipers before a suicide bomb attack on the periphery of her carcade on Thursday. Before her assassination, Benazir had addressed an election rally in Rawalpindi. At least 30 other people reportedly died in the attack and several more were injured.

Benazir, who was campaigning for the January 8 elections, had twice been the country's Prime Minister, in 1988 for 20 months and again between 1993 and 1996. Her killing is likely to provoke an agonised response from her followers, especially from her loyal following in Sindh Province.

She was key to her party's political fortunes, as she was seen as a major political player in the forthcoming elections. The PPP has the largest support base in the country.

Rawalpindi, a garrison city, is seen as one of the country's most secure cities, making the attack on Benazir even more embarrassing for President Pervez Musharraf and the military authorities.

Bhutto had returned from self-imposed exile on October 18 after nine years out of Pakistan where she had faced corruption charges. On the day of her return, she led a motor cavalcade through Karachi. It was hit by a double suicide attack that left over 140 people dead.

ANI>