Faizel Patel, 2016-07-09
Renowned Pakistani philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi, who dedicated his life to the poor and set up one of Pakistan’s biggest welfare organisations has died at the age of 88.
The announcement yesterday of the death of Edhi who was revered as a “living saint” by many in the South Asian country triggered a wave of accolades on TV and social media.
Edhi’s son Faisal told a news conference that his father was in critical condition at the intensive care unit of a Karachi hospital.
“His condition took a turn for the worse in the afternoon when he faced difficulty breathing while undergoing dialysis at the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation. Doctors had put Edhi on ventilator.”
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif paid tribute to him as “a great servant of humanity,” and said he would receive a posthumous presidential medal and a state funeral.
The 88-year-old’s reputation for austerity and generosity resonated deeply in Pakistan, a country of 190 million people whose government is riddled with corruption and where public health and welfare services are weak.
The Edhi Foundation now provides a broad range of free social services, including ambulances, orphanages and support for the elderly and disabled.
Edhi’s war was against prejudice, cruelty. No politics, no fatwas, no greed. Just humanity for the sake of humanity.
– Agencies
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