ISLAMABAD: The nation on Wednesday observed the 10th death anniversary of Abdul Sattar Edhi, the legendary philanthropist whose name has become synonymous with selfless service in Pakistan and whose work continues to shape the country’s welfare landscape a decade after his passing.
Edhi spent his entire life in service of the poor and the destitute, extending help without regard to religion, caste or social standing. What began as a modest welfare effort eventually grew into the Edhi Foundation, now counted among the largest charitable organisations in the country, running ambulance services, emergency response units, orphanages, shelters, free medical care and food distribution programmes that reach every corner of Pakistan.
He was born on February 28, 1928, in Bantva, a small town in Gujarat that was then part of British India. Following the creation of Pakistan in 1947, his family moved to Karachi, the city that would become the base of his life’s work. It was his mother who first instilled in him the values of compassion and giving, lessons that stayed with him and eventually led him, in 1951, to set up a small free dispensary in Karachi. That modest clinic would, over the following decades, grow into a foundation whose reach extended across the entire country.
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Much of that growth owed to his wife, Bilquis Edhi, who took the welfare mission forward, especially in areas concerning women and children. Among the foundation’s most recognised initiatives is the Jhoola Project, under which cradles were placed outside Edhi centres nationwide so that abandoned infants could be left safely rather than discarded. Over the years, thousands of such children were taken in, raised and given a chance at life through the programme.
Edhi’s ambulance network eventually became the largest of its kind run by volunteers anywhere in the world, a feat recognised by Guinness World Records. His work brought him some of the highest honours a Pakistani citizen can receive, including the Nishan-e-Imtiaz, as well as international recognition such as the Ramon Magsaysay Award and the Lenin Peace Prize. Yet for all the accolades and the scale of the organisation he built, Edhi lived simply until the end, a trait many still remember him for.
He died on July 8, 2016, at the age of 88, after a prolonged battle with kidney disease. As he had wished, his corneas were donated after his death, restoring sight to two individuals. He was buried in Karachi with full state honours, in a funeral attended by thousands who had come to pay their respects to the man they often called a saint of the streets.
Marking the anniversary on Wednesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Edhi’s life remains a model for the country’s youth, noting that his example showed how one individual, through selfless service, could contribute meaningfully to both social welfare and national progress.
President Asif Ali Zardari also paid tribute, calling Edhi a symbol of compassion whose humanitarian work set a standard few could match. He said Edhi had devoted his life entirely to the poor and the vulnerable and had built, in the process, the world’s largest voluntary ambulance service, a legacy that endures well beyond his lifetime.
The Edhi Foundation today continues its work under the stewardship of Faisal Edhi and other family members, with its ambulances, orphanages, nursing homes, shelters and community kitchens still serving millions of Pakistanis, just as its founder intended, without distinction or discrimination.
