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Zakullah Khan Niazi navigates his taxi through the stretch of Highway 427 he has driven countless times since arriving from Pakistan more than two decades ago, his eyes tracking the road through large glasses but also tears, as he struggles to come to terms with his homeland's latest tragedy.
Mr. Niazi, a large man prone to thoughtful pauses, eagerly offers his views on Pakistan's political strife, explaining that his long absence has not diminished his connection to his first country.
“Our connection with our home never ends, even though we are here and our kids are here,” Mr. Niazi says, struggling to control his emotions.
Mr. Niazi, a member of the Pakistan People's Party Canada's ad hoc committee, echoed the sentiments of many within the faction that hopes of a democratic Pakistan in the near future died with Benazir Bhutto yesterday.
Grief poured forth from many in Canada's large community of Pakistani expatriates yesterday after news spread of Ms. Bhutto's assassination in Rawalpindi.
More than 300,000 people of Pakistani descent live in Canada, most having settled in the Greater Toronto Area, with Ms. Bhutto's PPP and Nawaz Sharif's branch of the Pakistan Muslim League garnering the lion's share of political support.
Many stressed that Ms. Bhutto's death represents a loss for all Pakistani people and said they had seen national unity take precedence over partisan politics.
“It's not a loss for the party; I think it's a loss for the country,” said Asaf Shujah, president of the Canadian branch of Mr. Sharif's PML party and the Pakistan Canada Cultural Association, who has resided in Canada for 36 years. “We have lost a big leader, a very courageous leader, so it's equally sad for everyone.”
Zafar Ali Qureshi, president of the Ontario Association of Pakistani Canadians, agreed that most Pakistani-Canadians appeared to be placing their political affiliations aside to mourn.
“Actually, when it happens to any political leaders, we all united about her death,” he said.
“It doesn't matter whose party.”
A group of PPP officials and supporters gathered at a Mississauga restaurant to console each other and offer their thoughts to the media. The group, some of whom had met with Ms. Bhutto in New York only months ago, spoke with bowed heads and shaky voices, occasionally weeping loudly on the shoulders of others.
Liaqat Malik, chairman of PPP Canada, suggested that one reason Pakistani-Canadians were feeling the loss so acutely was Ms. Bhutto's ability to connect to marginalized people.
“She always talk about the people of Pakistan, the peasants of Pakistan, the little farmers of Pakistan. She always talk about the workers of Pakistan,” he said.
Federal MPs Jim Karygiannis and Ruby Dhalla also spoke at the gathering. Mr. Karygiannis promised to speak to Prime Minister Stephen Harper about addressing the assassination with Commonwealth and international leaders.
Mr. Malik twice broke into loud chants of “Benazir!” to which the group responded in Urdu each time. As the group parted ways, they left two vases of flowers flanking a party poster depicting their fallen leader.
Salma Ataullahjan is a childhood schoolmate and friend of Ms. Bhutto whose father is a vice-president of Mr. Sharif's party.
She said many in Canada are worried about friends and relatives in Pakistan as images of violence and anger flood the airwaves, adding to their horror.
“It was shock this morning. I was getting calls from Pakistan where people are afraid, people are worried,” she said. “Everybody's stayed home because everything's closed, and there's sadness.”
Javed Gujar, president of PPP Canada, said he has also been flooded by calls of grief and concern from Canada as well as from Pakistan.
“We keep in touch with Pakistan every moment,” he said.
Some also said the wound was too fresh to look to the future yet, and that they would need a few days to come to terms with their altered situation.
Mr. Shujah said a widespread feeling of instability in Pakistan has permeated the expatriate community in Canada.
“The view is uncertainty in Pakistan,” he said. “We don't know exactly what's going to happen tomorrow, the day after tomorrow.”
