Benazir Bhutto's death anniversary: exhibition on 'Fighter for Democracy' marks

Lok Virsa, the National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage here on Saturday displayed a photographic exhibition entitled 'Fighter for Democracy' in connection with the 2nd death anniversary of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. The event was organised in collaboration with the National Institute of Cultural Studies (NICS) while the collection of the photographs was presented by Amjad Hussain, Shiraz Haider and Robina Khalid.
The speakers, who shed light on the life and works of the great leader, included Imtiaz Safdar Warraich, Minister of State for Communication, Syed Nayyar Hussain Bukhari, Leader of House in Senate, Dr Israr Shah, Member of the PPP Executive Council and Khalid Javaid, Executive Director, Lok Virsa. Syed Nayyar Bukhari and Imtiaz Warraich lit candles and laid wreath in front of a painting of Benazir Bhutto displayed at the venue.
In his welcoming address, Executive Director, Lok Virsa, Khalid Javaid explained that exhibition is basically a small effort on the part of Lok Virsa to pay tribute to the Shaheed BB, who sacrificed her life for the people and democracy in Pakistan.
He said that Lok Virsa has the privilege of being created by Quaid-i-Awam Shaheed Z A Bhutto during the first democratic government of the PPP in 1974. He explained that over the years, Lok Virsa has made tremendous contributions towards the documentation, promotion and preservation of the Pakistan's tangible and intangible culture, folklore, oral traditions and traditional culture.
Landmark achievements of Lok Virsa include establishment of the first state Museum of Ethnology in Islamabad (popularly known as the Heritage Museum) a unique cultural library of rare materials, audio-visual archives and a state-of-the-art media centre, he stated.
To mark the occasion, Khalid announced to create a life size relief dedicated to Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto in the Hall of Future Vision at the Heritage Museum at Shakarparian.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Israr Shah said that BB had a vision about culture and she was a hope for the people of Pakistan. Nayyar Bukhari said that the displayed photographs of different phrases of life of Mohtarma Shaheed are the depiction of historical moments, adding, "She gave the political vision of democracy and signified to adopt a mental approach regarding education. She talked about the empowerment of women and middle class. She had a trust and confidence in the leadership."
Imtiaz Warriach said that Shaheed Benazir gave a voice to the people, the poor and the labour and history remembers those who sacrifice their lives for the people and the country.
The exhibition depicted the life of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto; her historical moments with family including father Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, mother Nusrat Bhutto, sister Sanam Bhutto, brothers Shahnawaz and Murtaza Bhutto, husband Asif Ali Zardari and children Bilawal, Bakhtawar and Asifa; her interactions with the world leaders including George Bush Sr., Margaret Theatcher, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Francois Mitterand, Yasser Arafat, Indra Gandhi and Hamid Karzai; contributions rendered by her during the two time premiership and above all, her untiring struggle for the restoration of democracy in Pakistan which culminated on her assassination in December, 2007.
Later, Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, Federal Minister for Population Welfare also visited the exhibition at Lok Virsa and lit candles and laid wreath in front of a painting of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto and offered Fatiha for the departed soul of the martyr.
Benazir Bhutto sworn in as Prime Minister of Pakistan on December 2, 1988, thus becoming the first ever woman to head the government of an Islamic State. In the preceding decade of political struggle, Ms Bhutto was arrested on numerous occasions; in all she spent nearly 6 years either in prison or under detention for her dedicated leadership of the then opposition Pakistan Peoples Party. Throughout the years in opposition, she pledged to transform Pakistani society by focusing attention on programmes for health, social welfare and education for the underprivileged.
Since assuming the office of Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto emphasised the need to heal past wounds and to put an end to the divisions in Pakistani society - including reducing discrimination between men and women. Ms Bhutto also launched a nation-wide programme of health and education reforms.
Benazir Bhutto was born in Karachi in 1953. After completing her early education in Pakistan, she attended Radcliffe College and Oxford University. Besides obtaining a degree in philosophy, politics and economics, she also completed a course in International Law and Diplomacy at Oxford. Ms Bhutto was the author of "Foreign Policy in Perspective" and her autobiography, "Daughter of Destiny" and "Daughter of the East".
She received the Bruno Kreisky Award for Human Rights in 1988 and the Honorary Phi Beta Kappa Award from Radcliffe in 1989. Benazir Bhutto was a woman of great courage and conviction.