BODIES UPON BODIES

Turbat incident victims’ bodies shifted to Edhi Centre
Turbat bus firing victims’ 18 dead bodies have been shifted today to Edhi Center in Karachi for burial on Sunday. Dead bodies of bus firing victims were moved by Edhi Ambulances from Turbat to cold storage of Edhi Center near Sohrab Goth in Karachi.
After arrival of the dead bodies, a collective funeral prayer for all deceased was offered at the Edhi Center. Abdul Sattar Edhi, Chairman of Edhi Foundation, and a large number of people present on the occasion attended it.
According to Edhi sources, these dead bodies will be kept at the Edhi cold storage for identification this day.
The identified dead bodies will be handed over to their heirs and the remaining unidentified corpse will be buried as Amanat (kept as others’ belongings) in Edhi Graveyard tomorrow.
Abdul Sattar Edhi felt very sad after seeing bus firing victims’ dead bodies, at the time of arrived from Turbat. He turned very weak and faint for some time immediately after offering funeral prayers of the deceased.
Later on, he recovered after receiving quick medical assistance.
Edhi falls unconscious

Renowned social worker and the founder of Edhi Foundation Abdus Sattar Edhi fainted due to emotional stress over killings of innocent people following the funeral prayer of those killed in Turbat incident outside the Karachi Edhi Centre. Mr. Edhi was talking to media after receiving the bodies of 18 people who were gunned down in Turbat city of Balochistan on Friday night. His rescue workers moved him for immediate first aid. Later, the Edhi sources said that Mr. Sattar was fine. Mr. Edhi said that the terrorists have destroyed 18 families. Adding that they should stop doing like that. “No family has yet contacted to him for the bodies,” he replied to query. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has directed that best available medical facilities be provided to renowned social worker Abdul Sattar Edhi and he should be kept informed about his latest condition. He prayed to the Almighty Allah for early recovery of Abdul Sattar Edhi.
From a peddler to a philanthropist

Abdul Sattar Edhi or Maulana Edhi is the founder and head of Edhi Foundation, a non-profit social welfare programme. Together with his wife, Bilquis Edhi, he received the 1986 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service. He is also the recipient of the Lenin Peace Prize and the Balzan Prize. In 2006, Institute of Business Administration Pakistan conferred a honoris causa degree of Doctor of Social Service Management for his services. In September 2010, Edhi was also awarded an honorary degree of Doctorate by the University of Bedfordshire.
Early life: Edhi was born in 1928 in Bantva in the Gujarat, British India.
When he was eleven, his mother became paralyzed and later grew mentally ill and died when he was 19. His personal experiences caused him to develop a system of services for old, mentally ill and challenged people.
Edhi and his family migrated to Pakistan in 1947. He initially started as a peddler, later became a commission agent selling cloth in the wholesale market in Karachi. After a few years, he established a free dispensary with the help from his community. He later established a welfare trust, “Edhi Trust”
Edhi was married in 1965 to Bilquis, a nurse who worked at the Edhi dispensary. The couple have four children, two daughters and two sons. Bilquis runs the free maternity home at the headquarter in Karachi and organises the adoption of illegitimate and abandoned babies.
Charity Work: Edhi Foundation runs the world’s largest ambulance service and operates free old people’s homes, orphanages, clinics, women’s shelters, and rehab centres for drug addicts and mentally ill individuals. It has run relief operations in Africa, Middle East, the Caucasus region, Eastern Europe and US where it provided aid following the New Orleans hurricane of 2005.
In November 2011, Edhi was recommended for a Nobel Peace prize.