Click to play videoNew Delhi: Benazir Bhutto had returned to Pakistan after more than eight years of self-imposed exile. Once regarded in the West as a beacon of democratic values, she fell from grace after being dismissed from office for alleged corruption.
On one of the occasions, Bhutto had said that for a person who has suffered so much, must continue the struggle to final victory and I shall do so till my last breath.
Here's a look at the extraordinary career of the woman called the daughter of the east.
Born into a political dynasty in 1953, Benazir Bhutto was one of the most prominent faces of Pakistan. Originally a Foreign Service aspirant, she was forced to enter the political scene soon after her father Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's execution in 1979. Zulfiqar's followers turned to her to lead the Pakistan People's Party. However, her entry to mainstream politics was not going to be easy. For the next seven years she was either under house arrest or exiled in Britain. She returned to Pakistan in 1986 and married politician Asif Zardari.
Following the military premier Zia-ul-Haq's death in 1988, she became the first woman Prime Minister of a democratically elected government. However, her first term was to last for only 20 months. She returned to office for the second time in 1993 after Nawaz Sharif was removed on corruption charges.
Benazir herself was dogged by corruption charges and removed from power in 1996.
She went into exile after being convicted in 1999. But growing discontent with Musharraf's regime created conditions favourable for her return and Benazir finally returned home on the 18th of October.
Unfortunately, even while she was being welcomed, this suicide attack happened, killing more than 140. Benazir herself survived that attempt on her life, but this time she fell prey to the violent ways of those opposed to her.
Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi has lauded Benazir Bhutto's commitment to the cause of democracy in Pakistan despite being fully aware of the risks involved. “She did not hesitate to risk her life in pursuing the objective of democracy with courage, commitment and dedication," adds Sonia.
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