Abdul Sattar Edhi's soyem held in Karachi
Quran Khwani was held in Memon mosque at 9 am and continued till 11:30 am.
KARACHI (Dunya News / AFP) - The soyem for legendary humanitarian and philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi was held in Karachi’s Memon Masjid on Sunday.
Quran Khwani was held in the mosque at 9 am and continued till 11:30 am.
Senior leaders of various political parties including including Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s Dr Farooq Sattar and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s Dr Arif Alvi attended the soyem.
Strict security arrangements were made on the occasion.
For females, the arrangements were made in Meetha Dar.
Quran Khwani was also held at Edhi centre in Islamabad and Lahore which was attended by a large number of people.
Politicians also paid their regards to the late humanitarian. Opposition leader Syed Khurshid Shah and Speaker Sindh Assembly Agha Siraj Durrani condoled over the celebrated humanitarian’s death with his family and termed his loss as irreparable.
A large number of people prayed for his forgiveness in the praying session held at Edhi Home. A large number of children and women attended the ceremony and prayed for Edhi’s high ranks in the hereafter.
A large number of workers belonging to the foundation and scores of locals in Islamabad and Lahore attended praying ceremonies held at Edhi centres located in both cities.
Soyem of the late philanthropist was held in a number of other countries including Hyderabad, Quetta and Larkana.
The prayer ceremonies are also underway in every small and big cities of the country.
His son, Faisal Edhi, vowed to take the mission of his father ahead and continue to serve the humanity.
A gloomy Pakistan on Saturday bade farewell to its national hero Abdul Sattar Edhi, the founder of the country’s largest welfare organisation who died Friday in Karachi aged 88.
Edhi, whose death was confirmed by his son Faisal, was revered for setting up maternity wards, morgues, orphanages, shelters and homes for the elderly, picking up where limited government-run services fell short.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced a state funeral and day of national mourning in honour of the man who owned just two sets of clothes, but whose work uplifting the nation’s destitute and orphans cemented his place in the hearts of Pakistan’s masses.
Edhi, known as a ‘servant of humanity’ and who also ran the world’s largest private ambulance network, was suffering from severe kidney problems according to his son.
Born to a family of Muslim traders in Gujarat in British India, Edhi arrived in Pakistan after its bloody creation in 1947.
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 towards philanthropy.
In the sticky streets in the heart of Karachi, Edhi, full of idealism and hope, opened his first medical clinic in 1951.
Abandoned children and the elderly, battered women, the disabled, drug addicts; Edhi’s foundation now houses some 5,700 people in 17 shelters across the country.
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