Pivotal Pakistan

Sadness lingers in Pakistan over Benazir Bhutto, with confidence for new day
By Zheng Hangen - China View

ISLAMABAD-- A week after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, Pakistani people continue to mourn the former prime minister while holding confidence for a new day.

A big funeral prayer was held Thursday in the Jinnah Bagh Park in Rawalpindi, south of Islamabad, where Bhutto had addressed a campaign rally before she was killed a week ago in a suicide attack on her way leaving the gathering.

Some 3,000 people from the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), the party which Bhutto had headed, and Bhutto's supporters attended the prayer, much more than those in the previous days, said PPP members, noting prayers have been held everyday since Bhutto was killed.

At the rear gate of the park, a temporary memorial has been visited by people from all over the country and from abroad to pay homage to the former Pakistani cabinet chief.

A big portrait of her hang on the wall with flowers, candles and cards beneath.

"For our queen of hearts," says one card. "Bhutto, future of nation," and "May your soul rest in peace," read the other two.

A young boy stood silently in front of the Bhutto portrait, holding a portrait of his father, who was killed along with Bhutto and dozens others. The boy's mother and sister were also praying near the memorial, with tears in their eyes.

"Everyday people come here to pay tribute to Benazir Bhutto," said a police officer patrolling near the memorial.

"Her death is a great loss to the country," said Rana Nassir Bulbul, a botany student at the Postgraduate College H-8 Islamabad. "I hope the murderer will be found," he said.

In many other cities, funeral prayers, memorial meetings and candle vigils have been held in the past days to mourn the slaying of the female politician, who has been viewed by many Pakistanis as a great leader.

As the country is still suffused with sadness over Bhutto, the confidence for a new life in the wake of the tragedy is also spreading among the Pakistani people.

In Rawalpindi, people's routine normalcy has been recovered. Shops are open with shop assistants busy looking after customers. In the streets, traffic is in full swing just as usual.

"Life must go on and we should turn our eyes to the future," said 20-year-old Imadad Hussain, a telecommunication engineering student in Islamabad.

"Time is a good healer," he said. "I hope a smooth (parliamentary) election will be held and the situation after that will be better."

The general election, which was scheduled for Jan. 8, will be postponed until Feb. 18. President Pervez Musharraf said the postponement was justified after the assessment of the current situation and that the government is committed to a fair, transparent and free election.

The Pakistani government has launched an investigation into the slaying of 54-year-old Bhutto.