Bakhtawar Bhutto-Zardari gets engaged in private ceremony in Karachi

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It was an emotional day for Bakhtawar Bhutto-Zardari, the elder daughter of slain former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, as she got engaged on Friday evening at Bilawal House in Karachi to a UAE-based Pakistani businessman.

"So grateful for everyone’s love & prayers. Especially our PPP family whom I know are eager to participate. InshAllah this is only the beginning - will be able to celebrate in a post Covid world," shared Bakhtawar on Friday.

The bride-to-be also shared an official photo with fiancé Mahmood Choudhry, who flew in with his family from Abu Dhabi for the event, complete with a portrait of her late mother in the background.

Bakhtawar's father, former president Asif Ali Zardari, and sister Aseefa attended the ceremony. Her brother, Pakistan People's Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, participated via video call as he is currently isolating after testing positive for Covid-19 earlier this week.

For the engagement, Bakhtawar wore a monochrome peach outfit created by designer Nida Azwer, accompanied with a meticulously handworked chadar featuring Mughal miniature portraits.

Guests could only attend the event on condition of testing negative for the coronavirus in the past 24 hours and were not allowed to take pictures, rules which will stay in place for the couple's upcoming wedding in late January 2021.

According to a statement released by PPP, the groom-to-be, Mahmood Choudhry, "is the son of Mohammad Younas and Begum Suraiya Choudhry who hail from the old town of Lahore, Pakistan. Mr Younas migrated to the United Arab Emirates in 1973 where through hard-work he established businesses in the construction and transport industry."

Mahmood, 32, is the youngest of five siblings and was born in Abu Dhabi. He completed his primary schooling and secondary schooling in the United Kingdom. Mahmood further went on to study law at the University of Durham.

His country of residence will remain the UAE, where he runs businesses in construction, finance and tech, said the party's statement.