Benazir Bhutto Laid To Rest

December 28, 2007 · Filed Under Terrorism, Terrorists, World News

Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was buried Friday in her ancestral hometown, one day after her assassination in Rawalpindi.

She was buried in Naudero, Sindhi province, 350 miles from the southern city of Karachi. Her husband and three children arrived Friday to prepare for the ceremony, and thousands of mourners joined the funeral procession.

Hundreds of thousands of mourners lined the streets of Naudero, many weeping and beating their heads as they walked behind the white ambulance that carried her flag-draped coffin the three mile journey from her family home to the magnificent, three-domed mausoleum at Garhi Khuda Baksh where her father, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, another charismatic political leader to die a violent death, already lies buried.

A huge roar went up as the coffin, covered in the red, black and green flag of her Pakistan People’s Party, arrived at the gates of the white mausoleum. Inside, a mullah led funeral prayers, while the crowds raised their hands in front of their faces and chanted “Allahu Akhbar” (God is Great) three times.

Cities across Pakistan came to a standstill, with schools, public offices and private businesses shut and public transport halted, as the country began three days of official mourning for the opposition leader.