ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari attended a ceremony to unveil a wax figure of his late mother and former Pakistan prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, at Madame Tussauds in Dubai on Sunday, saying that she was a symbol of “democracy and equal rights for women.”
Two-time former prime minister, Bhutto was the first woman elected to head a democratic government in Muslim-majority Pakistan. She was assassinated in a gun-and-bomb attack on her during an election rally in the garrison city of Rawalpindi on December 27, 2007.
Madame Tussauds Dubai, a world-famous wax attraction, is the first of its kind in the Gulf region and is the 25th edition globally.
The Pakistani foreign minister arrived in the UAE on an official visit Sunday morning to attend the unveiling ceremony of his slain mother’s wax statue.
“It is indeed an honor and a privilege that we are unveiling the statue of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto here at the Madame Tussauds in Dubai,” Bhutto-Zardari said at the event.
The Pakistani foreign minister said Dubai has a special place in his heart as his late mother spent 10 years in the city during her self-imposed exile before returning to Pakistan in 2007.
“So, we have a close attachment to this city, to this country and we are immensely grateful that the memory of our mother is being honored here in the form of this wax statue,” he said.
“She is a symbol of democracy, for freedom, for equal rights for women across the world,” Bhutto-Zardari said. “And for a peaceful, progressive Pakistan.”
During his visit, the Pakistani foreign minister is also scheduled to meet his Emirati counterpart, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, according to the foreign office. The two will discuss the “entire spectrum of bilateral relations” between the two brotherly countries.
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On Friday, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also visited the UAE and met the country’s president to offer his condolences over the passing of his brother. The UAE announced on Thursday that Sheikh Saeed, a representative of the ruler of Abu Dhabi, passed away after suffering from a health problem.
“The deceased was a great friend of Pakistan,” Sharif said on Twitter. “His demise is certainly a big loss for the Al Nahyan family. We, in Pakistan, share the grief & sorrow of our Emirati brothers & sisters and pray for peace of the departed soul.”
