Benazir Bhutto’s Death Anniversary in Pakistan Date in the current year: December 27, 2024

Benazir Bhutto was born on June 21, 1953. She came from a wealthy aristocratic family, several members of which, including her father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, were prominent politicians. Zulfikar made sure his daughter received a good education; upon graduating from school, Benazir studied at Harvard and Oxford.

In 1977, she returned to Pakistan, where her father was serving as Prime Minister. A month after Benazir’s return, Zulfikar was overthrown in a coup. Following her father’s execution in 1979, Bhutto became co-leader of the Pakistan’s People Party that Zulfikar co-founded in 1967.

After several arrests and a two-year self-imposed exile in Britain, Bhutto returned to Pakistan and led her party to victory in the 1988 general election, becoming the country’s first female Prime Minister. She served for two years and lost the next election to a conservative party (it is believed that the election was rigged). Bhutto led her party to victory once again in 1993 and served as Prime Minister for one more term. After losing the next election, Bhutto went into another self-exile for a decade.

Bhutto was assassinated on December 27, 2007 while campaigning ahead of the 2008 general election. She survived the first assassination attempt that occurred on October 18, 2007 in Karachi, two months after Bhutto’s return from her self-imposed exile, and resulted in the deaths of at least 180 people, including the suicide bomber responsible for the attack. Alas, the second attempt on Bhutto’s life was successful.

Bhutto was leaving an election rally that had taken place at Liaquat National Park in Rawalpindi when one or more assassins fired at her bulletproof car, and then a suicide bomber detonated a bomb next to the vehicle. Bhutto was taken to the hospital, but doctors weren’t able to resuscitate her, and she was declared dead at 18:16 local time. Bhutto’s funeral took place on December 28; she was buried in the Bhutto family mausoleum beside her father.

In the wake of Bhutto’s death, violent protests occurred throughout Pakistan, but they were mostly quelled by December 28. The election that was supposed to be held in January was postponed until late February. An investigation into Bhutto’s assassination was conducted, linking her death to al-Qaeda and Pakistani Taliban.

Memorial events on the occasion of Benazir Bhutto’s death anniversary are organized primarily by the Pakistan People’s Party that Bhutto used to lead. They include gatherings attended by political leaders, activists and the general public, speeches, conferences, ceremonies, etc. The biggest gathering occurs near the Bhutto family mausoleum in the village of Garhi Khuda Bakhsh. As we’ve already mentioned above, the death anniversary of Benazir Bhutto is not a public holiday, but it is a regional holiday in Bhutto’s home province of Sindh.