Bhutto's Son Launches Own Political Career

Five years to the day of Benazir Bhutto's assassination, her only son arrived on the political scene in Pakistan, reports AFP. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari gave what the AP calls a "fiery" political speech, his first. "How ever many Bhuttos you kill, more Bhuttos will emerge from every house," the 24-year-old told a crowd at the family mausoleum in Sindh province. He promised to fight "anti-democratic forces" and crusade for the poor as his mother did as prime minister.

Zardari cannot run for Parliament until he turns 25 next year, but he is expected to play a big role in drumming up support for the Pakistan People's Party. He is the third generation of Bhuttos to enter politics: His grandfather, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founded the PPP, served as president and prime minister, then was hanged in 1979 after a military coup. Zardari has kept a relatively low profile since his mother's death as he finished his studies at Oxford, reports the BBC in a profile. He returned to the country in 2010. "I want to tell you that thanks to God he has completed his studies, but now is the time of his training," his father, President Asif Ali Zardari, told the crowd today. (More Bilawal Bhutto Zardari stories.)