KARACHI, Oct 19 The Sindh Assembly paid homage on Monday to the victims of the Oct 18, 2007 bomb blasts that killed 176 people near Karsaz during a historic rally led by Benazir Bhutto on her return from abroad.

Describing them as martyrs of democracy, in a resolution passed unanimously after speeches of some three dozen members across the house, they renewed their pledge to bring to justice the perpetrators of the tragedy and reaffirmed their commitment to democratic ideals.Soon after the house was called to order by Speaker Nisar Ahmad Khuhro at 11am, Information Minister Shazia Marri rising in her seat on a point of order moved a motion for the suspension of the relevant rules under Rule 211 of the Rules of Procedure of the assembly to seek permission to move the resolution under Rule 102.

After the motion was carried through, she read out the resolution which said “This assembly recognises the attack on the 18th October historical rally of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto as a national tragedy, mourns the irreparable loss of 176 lives at the hands of heinous criminals, salute the courageous martyrs of democracy and those valiant soldiers who were injured during the rally welcoming Shaheed Mohtarma, Benazir Bhutto back to her beloved homeland; reiterates its pledge to bring to justice the perpetrators responsible for the tragedy of 18th October; and reaffirms its commitment to the democratic ideals for which Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and her fearless followers unflinchingly sacrificed their lives.”

Speaking on the resolution, Ms Marri, Pir Mazhar-ul-Haq and Ayaz Soomro said Benazir Bhutto was not only the leader of the Pakistan People's Party, but also a great leader of Pakistan and the world.

They said there was no other party except the PPP whose leaders and workers had rendered so many sacrifices in the struggle for democracy and the people's rights.

They said the spilled blood of innocent people and their leaders would not go waste. They said they respected the law and to get an impartial inquiry had asked the United Nations to investigate the tragedy of Dec 27 so that the killers of Benazir Bhutto could be exposed and punished.

They reiterated that the PPP leaders and workers would continue to strive for the stability of democracy and rights of the people to accomplish the mission of their late leader.

'A unique leader'

Syed Sardar Ahmad, the parliamentary leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, recalling his meeting with Ms Bhutto a day after the Oct 18 tragedy, said he found her a unique leader who, despite having crossed through a sea of blood and fire, was in high spirits. Her death was a great loss to the country and democratic forces.

Jam Madad Ali, the leader of the opposition in the Sindh Assembly, said the vacuum created by Ms Bhutto's death would never be filled. He demanded that her killers be caught and given an exemplary punishment.

Rana Abdul Sattar of the the Pakistan Muslim League (Functional) said the present democratic dispensation and the assembly were the result of the valiant struggle and sacrifice of Ms Bhutto. He, however, wondered that when the president, the prime minister and the chief minister belonged to the PPP and it had governments in the centre and all the four provinces, why the tragedies of May 12, Oct 18 and Dec 27 had not been investigated.

Earlier, other speakers who paid tribute to the victims of the Oct 18 tragedy pledged to continue their struggle to accomplish her vision of a strong and democratic Pakistan. The speakers included Agha Siraj Durrani, Rafique Engineer, Salim Khurshid Khokhar, Rai Naz Bozdar, Nisar Panhwar, Sherjeel Memon, Abdul Sattar Rajpar, Zahid Ali Bhurgari, Nargis N.D. Khan, Shehla Raza, Muzaffar Shujra, Ahmad Ali Shah, Zareen Majeed, Ferheen Moghal, Najma Saeed Chaowla, Manzoor Wassan, Imdad Pitafi, Kulsoom Chandio, Rasheeda Panhwar, Dr Sikander Mandhro, Syed Bachal Shah, Najmuddin Abro, Nadeem Bhutto, Humera Alwani, Anwar Mehar, Shamim Mithani, and Haji Munawwar Ali Abbasi.

After the resolution was passed unanimously, the question hour on the order of the day was taken up.On the motion of the law minister, the house allowed deferring of the rest of the business to Wednesday. The business left on the agenda included a privilege motion of Munawwar Ali Abbasi and the consideration of government bill No 14 - The Cancellation of Bogus Entries of Government Land Bill, 2009.

After the completion of the enlisted business on the order of the day, the chair adjourned the session till 10am on Tuesday, which will be a private members' day.