LAHORE  - The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) workers and civil society activists held a candlelight vigil here yesterday in memory of 14th death anniversary of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto who had been assassinated in 2007.

The participants vowed to continue the struggle for a purely democratic Pakistan where rights of all communities would be protected. They demanded the arrest of the slain leader’s killers and sought exemplary punishment for them. The event was held at Liberty Chowk in Lahore. The candlelight vigil was attended by PPP leaders namely Faiza Ahmed Malik, Syed Ahsan Rizvi, Waheed Alamgir, Asif Raza Baig, Hafiz Ghulam Mohiudin, Edvin Sahotra and Abdullah Malik.

While talking to the media, PPP leaders and civil society activists said that Benazir was a stateswoman and a visionary political leader who achieved a unique status in Pakistani politics due to her extraordinary intelligence, tireless efforts and bold style of politics. Paying homage to the former twice-elected prime minister on her death anniversary, they said that she had the courage to challenge the worst dictatorship of the times. “Pakistan’s political leaders remembered her as a leader who gave voice to the downtrodden and worked for national unity,” they added. They recalled the day of her assassination as a ‘sad chapter in the political history of the country’. They also said that Benazir strongly believed in reconciliation and forbearance. They also called upon all the political forces to rise above party lines to work for the democracy and prosperity of the country.