‎"Pakistan's Mother Teresa" mourned by nation ‎

Pakistan on Saturday buried one of its most loved and admired sons who was revered as a ‘living saint” and “Pakistan’s Mother Teresa”.  The state funeral of Abdul Sattar Edhi, one of Pakistan’s best-known philanthropists, was held at the National Stadium in Karachi, before he was buried on the outskirts of the city.  

Edhi died July 8, at age 88 at a hospital in Karachi, where he was suffering from renal failure.  In an outpouring of grief, the nation of 190 million paid its last respects to a man whose service transcended social, ethnic and religious divisions.  For over nearly 60 years Edhi's charitable arm, the Edhi Foundation, established clinics and orphanages across Pakistan and ran a vast fleet of ambulances, offering help to poor communities failed by inadequate public health and welfare services. 

At his funeral, Fr. Saleh Diego, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Karachi, laid a wreath of flowers on behalf of the Catholic Church. The priest said he had visited him in hospital. "He was very happy to see us. Together with his family we prayed for him," Fr. Diego said   The Archdiocese organized prayer vigils in all the churches..

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said Pakistan had lost "a great servant of humanity", and announced Saturday as a national day of mourning.  Many others took to social media to grieve over the loss of the much loved person, who’s death was marked with a 19-gun salute. The foreign minister of India, Pakistan's historic foe, said Edhi "was a noble soul who dedicated his life in service of mankind", while Pakistani teenage Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai told the BBC she had nominated him for the same Peace prize. 

Born in Gujarat in British India, Edhi and his Muslim family moved to Pakistan in 1947 during the violent partition of the subcontinent.  He built up his charity solely through donations, focusing on addicts, battered women, orphans and the disabled.  Renowned for an ascetic lifestyle and recognised by his long white beard and traditional black cap, Edhi was a hero to the poor but infuriated some religious leaders for his refusal to give preferential treatment to Muslims above minorities.  He also berated radical Islamist groups for attacking civilians, criticised the government for incompetence and corruption, and denounced tax-dodging by the rich. The Edhi foundation was at the forefront of the response last year when a devastating heatwave struck Karachi, a city of about 20 million people.