Can't forget the day when #BenazirBhutto was assassinated. I was studying at LUMS & was serving as General Secretary (GS) of Law & Politics Society (LPS). LPS had invited BB to deliver a talk on the future of democracy in Pakistan, which was scheduled in first week of Jan, 2008.
The overall context of the talk was important. Pakistan had recently been subjected to emergency rule by Gen. Musharraf, the Lawyers Movement was raging and the 2008 Elections were just around the corner. BB had returned from self exile & was leading a spirited election campaign.
As GS of LPS I was busy overseeing preparations for the event along with my colleagues. Necessary permissions had been obtained, venue had been booked, emails had been sent out to the student body, banners/posters had been printed which were soon to be affixed across the campus.
I'd never met Benazir Bhutto in my life, though I had read about her struggles against the Zia regime and had seen some of her interviews from the 80s & videos of her massive rallies which had rattled the regime. I was naturally very excited about meeting her for the first time.
On Dec 27, 2007, I was attending the class of a colonial history course taught by @AasimSajjadA, when in the middle of his lecture a student raised his hand & interrupted: 'Benazir Bhutto has been assassinated'. A couple of other students confirmed. We were all getting messages.
The instructor, absolutely stunned, cancelled the class. As we walked out, we saw students from the adjacent hall walking out as well. Classes across campus were being cancelled. People had started gathering in front of the dining centre. It was an immense display of common grief
Instructors, students, admin staff, janitors, we were all together in a state of mourning that evening. BB was assassinated hardly a week before her scheduled talk at LUMS. That night as I wrote that painful email on behalf of LPS announcing the cancellation of her talk, I cried.
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