Hats off to Abdul Sattar Edhi who declined the offer of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to donate Rs10m for taking care of Geeta, a girl who is now back in her home country after 12 years. “What the Edhi family has done is too priceless to be measured but I am happy to announce a contribution of Rs10 million for their foundation,” Modi tweeted.
I have been critical of Edhi sahib as I couldn’t understand as to why his men used to collect the bodies of terror victims but never stepped forward to save them from falling at the hands of perpetrators. They could have identified the criminals before executing the heinous acts. This created suspicions about the nature of his philanthropy. Sorry, anything is possible in a country where everything is shrouded in mystery. But the news that Edhi sahib has declined Modi’s offer impressed me a lot. This is an act which one can expect from a true Pakistani. Edhi has said nothing except thanking Modi for his gesture. But his act has given a clear message across the border that what Modi, his government, BJP and Shiv Sena are doing against the Muslim minority and visitors from Pakistan, is not at all acceptable.
Edhi sahib is not a political figure, nor did he give any political statement. The Indian Prime Minister must take it as a protest and revisit his policies. Modi must understand that he is turning India into an extremist state. It is advisable that Pakistan and India as well as other regional countries must join hands together and fight out terrorism once and for all. India, as a bigger country, will have to stop sponsoring terror and resolve outstanding disputes for a better future of the subcontinent.
F Z KHAN
Islamabad
