No Indian team for Bhutto funeral on Pak advice
There was no official delegation from India at former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s funeral at her ancestral place in the Sindh province.
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: There was no official delegation from India at former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s funeral at her ancestral place in the Sindh province.
It is learnt that the plan for external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee to represent India at the funeral in Benazi’r native village in Garhi Khuda Baksh was dropped on Pakistan’s advice.
The Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi advised the government against sending an official delegation for the funeral citing security considerations.
This caution was taken seriously by the establishment and the plans to send an official delegation led by Mr Mukherjee was scrapped. The government has now decided to send a delegation to the public memorial service whenever and wherever it is held.
But New Delhi is still waiting for word from Benazir’s husband Asif Zardari on the service. The Pakistani government’s security caution also extended to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif who was advised not to attend the funeral.
Now, the ripples of the PPP leader’s assassination have been felt all over Pakistan with violent protests breaking out against the government. Benazir’s supporters went on a rampage against the government, looting banks and burning railway stations. According to reports, the government issued ‘shoot-to-kill’ orders to paramilitary forces in Sindh in a bid to control the situation.
In this charged-up atmosphere, Benazir’s body was flown from Rawalpindi to Sukkur and then taken by a helicopter to her ancestral village. Benazir was finally laid to rest near her father Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s grave in her ancestral village in southern Sindh province. The MEA has been in touch with its mission in Islamabad for news of when the memorial service will be held and has been closely monitoring the situation.
It is learnt that the plan for external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee to represent India at the funeral in Benazi’r native village in Garhi Khuda Baksh was dropped on Pakistan’s advice.
The Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi advised the government against sending an official delegation for the funeral citing security considerations.
This caution was taken seriously by the establishment and the plans to send an official delegation led by Mr Mukherjee was scrapped. The government has now decided to send a delegation to the public memorial service whenever and wherever it is held.
But New Delhi is still waiting for word from Benazir’s husband Asif Zardari on the service. The Pakistani government’s security caution also extended to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif who was advised not to attend the funeral.
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Interestingly, observers point out that when Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan died in January 1988, the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi had gone to Pakistan to pay his tributes to the leader. This was in spite of the fact that General Zia had tried to stall his attendance citing security reasons. In spite of that warning, Rajiv Gandhi sent the word saying he was arriving in Peshawar.Now, the ripples of the PPP leader’s assassination have been felt all over Pakistan with violent protests breaking out against the government. Benazir’s supporters went on a rampage against the government, looting banks and burning railway stations. According to reports, the government issued ‘shoot-to-kill’ orders to paramilitary forces in Sindh in a bid to control the situation.
In this charged-up atmosphere, Benazir’s body was flown from Rawalpindi to Sukkur and then taken by a helicopter to her ancestral village. Benazir was finally laid to rest near her father Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s grave in her ancestral village in southern Sindh province. The MEA has been in touch with its mission in Islamabad for news of when the memorial service will be held and has been closely monitoring the situation.
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