Pakistan lost its ‘angel of mercy’ Abdul Sattar Edhi

“Empty words and long praises do not impress God. Show Him your faith by your deeds.” Edhi

خدا کے عاشق تو ہیں ہزاروں بنوں میں پھرتے ہیں مارے مارے
میں اسکا بندہ بنوں گا جس کو خدا کے بندوں سے پیار ہو گا-

Angels in skies has received an angel from earth today.إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّـا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعونَ
Edhi, the 'Saintly Fakir' and 'the richest poor man of Pakistan' died before midnight on Friday after a long battle with a kidney illness, triggering an outpouring of grief in the country for a man who transcended social, ethnic and religious divisions to help suffering humanity. 

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who mourned the loss of ‘a great servant of humanity’, announced a state funeral and a day of national mourning in honour of the man who owned just two sets of clothes, but who became the messiah for the country’s destitute and orphans and created a place in the hearts of millions of Pakistanis.

It was the country’s first state funeral since the death of military dictator General Ziaul Haq in 1988. Top political leaders, including President Mamnoon Hussain, provincial chief ministers and three services chiefs were present at the National Stadium in Karachi as a military jeep carrying Edhi’s coffin draped with national flag and covered with rose petals, drove in. A crowd of thousands of mourners broke through the military lines to help carry the coffin. The stadium reverberated with the slogans of Nara-e-Takbeer and Kalma-e-Shahadat.

After Maulana Ahmed Khan Niazi led the funeral prayers, the military fired a 19-gun salute and presented a guard of honour to Edhi. “As the state carriage leaves the stadium 19 guns salute begins- state funeral Edhi Sahib,” chief military spokesperson Lt Gen Asim Bajwa wrote on Twitter as Edhi’s coffin headed for Edhi Village on the edge of Karachi.

Attendees at the funeral included myself and my brother, President Mamnoon Hussain, Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani, the chief ministers of Sindh and Punjab, federal and provincial ministers, top politicians and famed philanthropists. Army chief General Raheel Sharif, Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman, Naval Chief Admiral Zakaullah, Corps Commander Karachi Lt Gen Naveed Mukhtar, DG Rangers Maj Gen Bilal Akbar and IGP Sindh Allah Dino Khowaja were also in attendance.

The military jeep drove Edhi’s coffin to the Edhi Village on Superhighway where he was to be laid to rest according to his will in a grave he had dug for himself more than two decades ago. A large number of security and private vehicles accompanied the coffin in a convoy.

A military band played out trumpet as Edhi’s coffin was lowered into the grave by renowned social worker Sarim Burney and Ramzan Chhipa. 

کس قدر نازاں ہے یہ خاک اپنی قسمت پہ

اِس نے اِک گوہر اپنے اندر چھپا رکھا ہے

“My religion is humanitarianism, which is the basis of every religion in the world.”