Abdul Sattar Edhi remembered on sixth death anniversary

KARACHI: Renowned philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi was remembered on his sixth death anniversary with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and others paying tribute to his services to mankind, ARY NEWS reported.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has paid tribute to renowned social activist Abdul Sattar Edhi on his death anniversary and prayed to Allah Almighty to bestow His blessings on him for his selfless service to humanity.

He said Abdul Sattar Edhi is the pride of Pakistan who has spent all his life in the sincere service of humanity.

Bilawal Bhutto said that Edhi had a vision and a path and taught the nation that the best life is the one that is being spent for the service of humanity.

Abdul Sattar Edhi

Edhi, who built a network of humanitarian centers across the country to provide life-saving services to the people, died on July 8, 2016 at the age of 89.

He was born to a family of Muslim traders in Gujarat in British India and migrated to Pakistan after its creation in 1947. He began his humanitarian work soon after migration.

The state’s failure to help his struggling family care for his mother — paralysed and suffering from mental health issues — was his painful and decisive turning point which spurred him onto philanthropy.

In the sticky streets in the heart of Karachi, Edhi, full of idealism and hope, opened his first clinic in 1951.

Motivated by a spiritual quest for justice, over the years Edhi and his team have created maternity wards, morgues, orphanages, shelters, and homes for the elderly aimed at helping those in society who cannot help themselves.

He was also mentioned in the Guinness Book of world records for the largest fleet of ambulances, offering help to poor communities failed by inadequate public health and welfare services. These 1500 ambulances are the most prominent symbols of the foundation deployed to the scene in case of an emergency or extremist attack.