Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who was anointed chairman of Pakistan People's Party on Sunday after the assassination of his mother Benazir Bhutto, fought back tears as friends and family streamed in to offer their condolences at his family home in Dubai.
Clad in a black kurta and salwar, Bilawal, 19, the eldest of the three Bhutto children, received condolences from residents at his home in Emirates Hills, an upmarket locality.
Mourners, who gathered at the residence, said that although he was being groomed by his mother to carry on the Bhutto legacy since his childhood, it was only in the last couple of years that they actually saw Bilawal accompanying his mother to party meetings and social gatherings.
Coverage: Benazir Bhutto Assassinated
The Bhutto family has been staying in Dubai for most of the eight years of Benazir's self-imposed exile. The children returned to Dubai after the burial of their mother and former Pakistan prime minister, who was assassinated in Pakistan on December 27.
"He (Bilawal) is not allowed to talk to the media. Try to understand that he is in mourning and just came back from Pakistan," one family source was quoted as saying by the Gulf News.
Glyn Kilsby, principal of the Rashid School for Boys in Dubai, accompanied by Andrew Hatcher, a history teacher, met Bilawal and offered their condolences to the teenager.
When asked by his school principal whether he would be going back to Oxford soon, Bilawal said 'Yes', the report said.
Hatcher stood watching his student from a distance. He said, "He saw me on December 16. He was telling me about his term in Oxford, the type of hard work he had to do. He was just coming to terms with his new life in Oxford".