Yes, the Pakistan we live in today is grateful to that noble soul, Shaheed BB who, with the help of her farsightedness, built up a new face of Pakistan and made the world realise that the people- and leaders- of this country are no less capable and civilised than the peoples of other countries.
Given her excellent command over communication skills and being the custodian of a legacy of popular will, inherited from her illustrious father, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (some analysts call him senior Bhutto), Benazir Bhutto worked incessantly to improve the impoverished people's lot. And she continued to pursue her goals and objectives despite being subjected to machinations of sorts that involved not one but many quarters including the Pakistani heads of state, establishment and anti-state militant outfits. She was, actually, the frontline power pitted against the elements of status quo that were wary of the rising tide of Bhuttoism, oblivious to the fact that the masses did not worship any individual as some personality cult ritual. Instead, the masses' love for BB was in return for her love for the masses. The multitude of Pakistani people believe that loving the masses is somewhat intrinsic with the Bhuttos who have always drawn inspiration from the faith reposed in them by the people. Therefore, it is wrong to mistake Bhuttoism for any personality worship or personality cult. Bhuttoism is a people's phenomenon and that's all and it should be understood only in the people's perspective ie on the yardstick of people's aspirations and in the context of people's faith in their genuine and sincere leaders. It was this faith in the PPP leadership that encouraged Benazir Bhutto to return to Pakistan although she had been conveyed concrete warnings by the then President, Pervez Musharraf, and other quarters concerned, that her life was in danger. She did not budge an inch. Her determination to return was inspired by her concern for the people of Pakistan whom she didn't want to abandon, come what may.
So, she returned to be attacked twice by the extremist forces that made the first attempt at Karsaaz and then, in the second attempt they took her life. But who lived thereafter? BB or the extremist thought? Obviously, the answer is that BB's martyrdom brought her yet greater strength, ie greater strength to her ideology. Even the staunch rivals of Benazir Bhutto now publicly call her Shaheed (martyr). Pakistan People's Party has, in this manner, climbed the ladder of public recognition that now makes the present party leadership confident about its bright prospects in the forthcoming election.
This policy of alliances is a practical extension of Benazir Bhutto's policy of reconciliation with other political, democratic forces. The seeds of reconciliation sown by BB are now bearing fruit.
Courtesy this reconciliation, the establishment has stopped thinking with the old mindset that of interventions and undemocratic overtures. The survival of the democratically elected people's government led by PPP in collaboration with its allies, is primarily due to this reconciliatory approach that was introduced in national politics by none other than BB.
In other countries, even in highly advanced democracies, it is unthinkable to maintain alliances for so longer period of time or even to keep those coalition governments intact for the mandated term that are formed in the wake of split mandate.
If the democratic government has survived the blows - and conspiracies- for more than four-and-a-half years, the credit for that goes to the tolerant, moderate style of PPP leaders or plainly speaking, to Benazir Bhutto who devised this strategy to fight the giants of establishment and undemocratic adventurism.
Today, the country is almost rid of those giants and is moving forward on the path of a strong and assertive people's rule and on the path of a balanced institutional framework. That clearly means the removal of obstacles in the way of country's progress and prosperity. The people are indebted to that graceful lady, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto, for bringing the masses out of despair and out of the dark abyss of interventions and day-to-day confrontations that spelt disaster for the country, for the system and for the people.