Today marks the sixth death anniversary of social worker Abdul Sattar Edhi. He is being remembered across the country for his compassion, love, and mercy.
Edhi, who dedicated his life to humanity, died six years ago, but he will live on in the hearts of every Pakistani and for the lives he touched around the world for decades.
Life
Abdul Sattar Edhi was born on February 28, 1928, in the Indian state of Gujarat, in the city of Shutwa, and moved to Karachi with his family after India’s partition in 1947.
Edhi learned to help others from a young age. This proved to be the key to Edhi Sahib’s future success, and led him to spending the next 65 years serving humanity.
Establishment of the Edhi Foundation
Edhi established his first welfare centre with only Rs 5,000 and later founded the Edhi Trust.
The Edhi Foundation, which serves people in every city in Pakistan, was enlisted into the Guinness Book of World Records in 1997 as the world’s largest ambulance service.
In addition to hospital and ambulance services, the Edhi Foundation has housed clinics, maternity homes, shelters, blood banks, orphanages, children’s evacuation centres, and schools.
The Edhi Foundation serves humanity in many other countries around the world, in addition to Pakistan.
Honours and awards
In the 1980s, the Pakistani government granted a highest ranking award to Abdul Sattar Edhi, and the Pakistan Army awarded him the Shield of Honor. In 1992, the Sindh government awarded him the Social worker of Subcontinent Award.
Edhi was awarded the Roman Magse Award by the Philippines in 1986, and the Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary International Foundation in 1993.
Edhi was suffering from kidney disease and died on July 8, 2016, as a result of his illness.
In recognition of his services, he was buried with full official honours.
The Pakistani government also awarded him the most prestigious Nishan-e-Imtiaz, and the State Bank of Pakistan issued a coin worth Rs 50 in his honour.
To guarantee fertiliser price stability, a cabinet committee meeting was presided over by Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar, the deputy prime minister.
Senior government officials, including Industries Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain, attended the meeting.
The attendees received an update on the government’s, gas suppliers’, and fertiliser industry’s conversations. Additionally, the gas supply for the fertiliser sector was evaluated and determined to be adequate.
Throughout the Rabi cropping season, the Deputy Prime Minister ordered the fertiliser industry to maintain a continuous gas supply in order to guarantee steady production and stock levels.
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has praised the State Bank of Pakistan’s decision to lower its policy rate by an additional 2 percent, stating that the bank’s current 13 percent rate is encouraging for the nation’s economy.
He expressed optimism in a statement that the policy rate cut would encourage investment and further boost investor confidence in the country’s economy.
The prime minister said that decreasing the inflation rate also lowered the policy rate and that future inflation rate reductions will be even more pronounced.
Additionally, he expressed gratitude to the Federal Finance Minister and other officials for their work in this area.
25 defendants, including PTI officials, have non-bailable arrest warrants issued by the Anti Terrorism Court of Rawalpindi for their failure to show up for court proceedings related to the GHQ attack case.
Judge Amjad Ali Shah added nine more suspects to the GHQ attack indictment list during today’s ATC Court sessions, bringing the total to 98.
Among the 61 defendants who appeared in court were Shah Mehmud Qureshi and the founder of the PTI.
Among those charged are Khadim Hussain Khokhar, Mehr Mohammad Javed, Chaudhary Asif, Zakir Ullah, Azeem Ullah, Shireen Mazatri, Major Retired Tahir Sadiq, and former MPA Rashid Hafeez.
A plea to cancel the bail of 23 suspects, including Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has also been filed by the prosecution side.
In the GHQ attack, there were 119 accused in total.