Pakistani philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi dead

Karachi, July 8

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Pakistan's celebrated philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi died on Saturday due to kidney failure. He was 92.

His son Faisal Edhi said Edhi had been admitted to the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation earlier on Friday and put on life support.

"He passed away few hours ago due to kidney failure. He had been facing respiratory problems during dialysis due to his frail health," Faisal said.

A well-known and popular philanthropist, Edhi was the brain behind the famous Edhi village that was set up 25 years ago to house the homeless, the destitute, street children, the elderly, abandoned babies, and addicts. He was the chairman of the Edhi Foundation.

Edhi’s kidneys had failed in 2013. He had been taking on dialysis treatment since, Failsal said.

"Before his death, he donated his coronaries and body organs," Faisal said.

"We can assure you that the Edhi Foundation and the village will continue his legacy in humanitarian work," Faisal said.

"My father's dream was to turn Pakistan into a welfare state and he single-handedly started the Edhi foundation which till today carries on its operations through private donations," Faisal said.

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"My father didn't own a house and the pair of shoes he died in were brought 20 years ago," he said.

Soon after news of his passing away was flashed on the television channels, hundreds of people started gathering outside the hospital and Edhi village as announcements said Sattar Edhi would be buried on Saturday.

"He had confirmed burial space 25-years ago near Edhi village and will be buried there as per his wishes," Faisal said.

In June, former President Asif Ali Zardari had offered to send Edhi abroad for treatment, an offer he declined saying he would rather be treated at a government hospital in Pakistan.

Nominated several times for the Nobel Peace Prize — including in 2015 — he won a several international awards in recognition of his work.

Belonging to a family of memon traders who came to Karachi in 1947, Edhi, who was born in Gujarat, began his welfare mission in 1951 opening his first home for homeless and sick in the Kharadar area in Karachi. — PTI