Pak loses a philanthropist who led from front, shunned politics
ISLAMABAD: The death of philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi, on Friday at the age of 88, has robbed Pakistan of one its most beloved personalities.
His was the story of a man who set up a dispensary in 1951 when he discovered how poor the state of health care was in Pakistan following the death of his mother at a government-run hospital. By the time of his death, Edhi ran the largest social welfare organisation of its kind not only in Pakistan but possibly in South Asia. His ambulance service is arguably the largest in the world in a country where government ambulances, save in a few cities, are almost non-existent.
His was the story of a man who was known as “Maulana” but who never used religion to either further his cause or collect donations. In fact, so particular was he about donations that he never took money from the government and rarely from any foreign entity.
From humble beginnings in Bantwa, Gujarat, a young Edhi learnt charity from his mother, who would give him money to give to poor people. It was this desire for charity that turned him into a social worker.
Not only rich Pakistanis gave to Edhi, but the poor as well. When Edhi was raising money for the victims of the Bangladesh cyclone, it was Bengali-speaking beggars who gave the most.
Edhi had a zero discrimination policy. All were welcome, irrespective of caste and creed. And Edhi led from the front. During the tumultuous years of Karachi violence in the mid-80’s, it was Edhi who would lead his fleet of ambulances into strife-torn areas and rescue the wounded or pick up the dead.
His charity was not restricted to Pakistan. Over the years, he helped in the Sabira -Shatilla camps in Lebanon, in the Gujarat earthquake, in the earthquake in Cairo and in different war zones across the world. At the drop of a hat, his organisation would be able to put together a massive relief operation after a natural disaster or calamity in Pakistan. Most people rely on Edhi more than they rely on the government machinery.
There were many close shaves for him but the biggest scare came in 1994, when a former ISI chief, General Hamid Gul, pushed Edhi to join a political campaign to save Pakistan by backing Imran Khan. When Edhi dithered, his foundation’s services were attacked.
He fled to London and the pressure was withdrawn. But Edhi made it very clear that he would have nothing to do with politics in Pakistan. Perhaps that is why he was not stopped from doing his work after that.