The Bhutto family mausoleum is situated at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh, in

Larkana District Larkana District ( Sindhi: لاڙڪاڻو ضلعو; ) is a district of the Sindh province of Pakistan. Its largest city is Larkana, which sits on the banks of the Indus River. It is the home district of the politically influential Bhutto famil ...

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. The ''

mazar Mazar of Al-Mazar may refer to: *Mazar (mausoleum), Muslim mausoleum or shrine Places * Mazar (toponymy), a component of Arabic toponyms literally meaning shrine, grave, tomb, etc. ; Afghanistan * Mazar, Afghanistan, village in Balkh Province * ...

'' contains the graves of the

Bhutto family The Bhutto family is a Pakistani political family of Sindhi background, belonging to the Bhutto clan. The Bhuttos have played a prominent role in Pakistani politics and government. The family has held the leadership of the Pakistan People' ...

, and is the burial place of

Zulfikar Zulfiqar or Zulfaqar (, ), also spelled ''Zu al-Faqar'', ''Zulfakar'', ''Dhu al-Faqar'', or ''Dhulfaqar)'', is the sword of Ali, Ali ibn Abi Talib that was distinguished by having a double blade. Middle Eastern weapons are commonly inscribed wi ...

, Murtaza, Shahnawaz, Nusrat, and

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto (21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990, and again from 1993 to 1996. She was also the first woman elected to head a democratic governmen ...

. Every year on the anniversary of Benazir Bhutto's death, large crowds gather at the site. The Shaheed Bhutto Mazar Committee oversees the arrangements of public gatherings at the venue.

Construction

Planning

When Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was laid to rest here in 1979, the site was just an ancestral family graveyard dating back to before the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

. In 1993, Benazir Bhutto, the-then

Prime Minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan (, Roman Urdu, romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Cabinet of Pakistan, cabinet, desp ...

, approved plans to construct a 56,000-square-foot building at the burial ground. In March 1994, the

Government of Sindh The Government of Sindh () () is the provincial government of the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Its powers and structure are set out in the provisions of the 1973 Constitution, in which 30 Districts of 7 Divisions under its authority and ju ...

approved the construction of a mausoleum which was estimated to cost $9.4 million, while the

Karachi Development Authority Karachi Development Authority (KDA) was established as the city-planning authority of Karachi in 1957, and replaced the earlier Karachi Improvement Trust (KIT). KDA, along with the Lyari Development Authority and Malir Development Authority, is re ...

was to execute it. The total cost was to be equally borne by the federal and the Sindh governments. The start of the construction was delayed after it was revealed that around 90% of the project site was occupied by the residents of Garhi Khuda Bakhsh. In November 1995, the site was evacuated, but design changes and complications resulted in an increase in the project cost.

First phase

Khursheed Junejo, former

nazim Subahdar, also known as Nazim, was one of the designations of a governor of a Subah (province), Subah (province) during the Khalji dynasty of Bengal, Mamluk dynasty (Delhi), Mamluk dynasty, Khalji dynasty, Tughlaq dynasty, and the Mughal era who ...

of Larkana, oversaw its construction. A competition to select the best design was held after that. The first phase of construction spanned from 1993 to 1997, with the project being led by architect Zaigham Jaffery. The National Construction Company was awarded a contract for the construction in September 1994.He visited

Ruhollah Khomeini Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian ...

and

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal and revolutionary statesman who was the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first President of Turkey, president from 1923 until Death an ...

's mazars to seek inspiration, and also tried to incorporate elements from the

Shalimar Gardens, Lahore The Shalamar Gardens () or Shalimar Gardens () are a Mughal garden complex besides Baghbanpura, located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The gardens date from the period when the Mughal Empire was at its artistic and aesthetic zenith, and are now ...

. The construction paused for about six years after that, since Benazir Bhutto wanted to incorporate a design more in line with

Islamic architecture Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both Secularity, secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. The Muslim world, Islamic world encompasse ...

Second phase

Construction resumed in 2003, after another competition was held to select a new design. The revised design, by Waqar Akbar Rizvi, included five domes and four

iwan An iwan (, , also as ''ivan'' or ''ivān''/''īvān'', , ) is a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. The formal gateway to the iwan is called , a Persian term for a portal projecting ...

s like the

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...

. The building is covered with white marble. Glazed tiles inscribed with calligraphy and fresco work and based on Sindhi Hala patterns have been used.

Tombs

Those buried here include: *

Shah Nawaz Bhutto Shah Nawaz Bhutto (, , ), 8 March 1888 – 19 November 1957, was a politician and a member of the Bhutto family hailing from Larkana in the Sind region of the Bombay Presidency of British India, which is now Sindh, Pakistan. Early life and ...

* Shah Nawaz's wife, Lady Khurshid * Shah Nawaz's three children: ** Sikander Bhutto ** Imdad Ali **

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was a Pakistani barrister and politician who served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and later as the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan from 19 ...

* Zulfikar's children **

Shahnawaz Bhutto Shahnawaz Bhutto (21 November 1958 – 18 July 1985; Sindhi: شاھنواز ڀٽو) was the son of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the former President and Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1971 to 1977 and Begum Nusrat Bhutto, who was of Persian descent. ...

Murtaza Bhutto Murtaza Bhutto (; , 18 September 1954 – 20 September 1996) was a Pakistani politician and leader of al-Zulfiqar, a Pakistani left-wing militant organization. The son of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, he earned a ...

* Zulfikar's wives Shireen Amir Begum and

Nusrat Bhutto Begum Nusrat Bhutto (; ; ; []; 23 March 1929 – 23 October 2011) was an Iranian-born Pakistani public figure who served as the First ladies and gentlemen of Pakistan, First Lady of Pakistan from 1970 Pakistani general election, 1971 to Operat ...

References