KARACHI: The Pakistan Post Office Department (PPOD) on Sunday released a commemorative postage stamp worth Rs 20 featuring Abdul Sattar Edhi.
The ceremony was held in Edhi home in Karachi’s Meetha Dar area. Sindh Post master General Muhammad Ikhlaq Rana and Faisal Edhi mutually unveiled the commemorative postage stamp. Edhi’s wife, Bilquees Edhi was also present on the occasion and praised the efforts of PPOD.
Ikhlaq Rana paid glowing tribute to Abdul Sattar Edhi. The renowned philanthropist and founder of Edhi foundation died on July 8 in Karachi. 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 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.
Edhi – full of idealism and hope – opened his first medical clinic in 1951 in Karachi, handling abandoned children, battered women, the disabled and the drug addicts. Edhi’s foundation now houses over 5,700 people in 17 shelters across the country.
