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| image = Abdul Sattar Edhi.jpg | | image = Abdul Sattar Edhi.jpg | ||
| alt = Abdul Sattar Edhi wearing a black cap and grey coat | | alt = Abdul Sattar Edhi wearing a black cap and grey coat | ||
| caption = Edhi in 2009 | | caption = Abdul Sattar Edhi in 2009 | ||
| birth_date = 28 February 1928 | | birth_date = 28 February 1928 | ||
| birth_place = Bantva, Gujarat, British India | | birth_place = Bantva, Gujarat, British India | ||
Latest revision as of 10:39, 1 September 2026
Abdul Sattar Edhi (28 February 1928 – 8 July 2016) was a Pakistani humanitarian, philanthropist and social worker who founded the Edhi Foundation, one of Pakistan's largest charitable and social-welfare organizations. Beginning with a small dispensary in Karachi in the early 1950s, he developed a network that came to provide ambulance and emergency services, medical care, shelters, maternity services, assistance for abandoned children, rehabilitation facilities, burial services and disaster relief.[1][2]
Edhi's work was largely supported by private donations, and he became known for providing assistance without regard to religion, ethnicity or social position.[2][3] His ambulance operation was recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's largest volunteer ambulance organization.[4] Among his international honors were the 1986 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service, awarded jointly with his wife Bilquis, the 2000 Balzan Prize for Humanity, Peace and Fraternity among Peoples and the 2009 UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence.[2][3][5]
Early life
Edhi was born in Bantva in Gujarat, then part of British India, into a Memon trading family. His father, Abdul Shakoor Edhi, worked in commerce.[1] Pakistani official sources give his birth date as 28 February 1928, although some accounts published around the time of his death noted that Edhi himself had not always been certain of his exact birth year.[6][7]
During his childhood, Edhi's mother became seriously ill and was affected by paralysis and mental illness. He helped care for her by feeding, bathing and assisting her with everyday needs. The Edhi Foundation later described this experience as an important influence on his concern for people who were ill, disabled or unable to care for themselves.[8]
Following the Partition of India in 1947, Edhi and his family migrated to the newly established Pakistan and settled in Karachi.[1] Before establishing himself in welfare work, he held modest jobs, including work as a street vendor and in his family's trading activities.[7]
Beginning of welfare work
In 1951, Edhi used his limited savings to establish a small dispensary in the Mithadar area of Karachi. He sought to make basic medical assistance available to people who could not otherwise afford it and gradually attracted volunteers and public donations.[1][9]
As contributions increased, Edhi expanded his activities beyond the dispensary. Emergency medical services, maternity care and an ambulance service were added, while facilities were developed for people who were homeless, disabled, mentally ill or otherwise without support.[2] He initially drove an ambulance himself and remained personally involved in rescue and welfare operations as the organization grew.[1]
Edhi's early welfare operation developed over subsequent decades into a formal institutional network. The International Balzan Foundation records that the Abdul Sattar Edhi Trust was registered and the Edhi Foundation established in 1974.[1] The organization expanded throughout Pakistan while retaining Karachi as its principal base.
Edhi Foundation
Under Edhi's leadership, the Edhi Foundation developed a broad range of humanitarian services. These included emergency ambulances, medical clinics, maternity facilities, homes for abandoned or homeless people, services for people with physical and mental disabilities, rehabilitation programs, orphan care, adoption assistance, mortuaries and burial services.[2][10]
The ambulance network became the organization's most visible service. Ambulances responded to traffic accidents, natural disasters, outbreaks of violence and other emergencies throughout Pakistan. Guinness World Records recognized Edhi's service as the largest volunteer ambulance organization.[4] By the final years of Edhi's life, major international reports described the organization as operating well over a thousand ambulances along with hospitals, orphanages, shelters and other welfare facilities.[11]
Edhi and Bilquis also developed programs for abandoned infants and children. Cradles were placed at Edhi facilities so that unwanted babies could be left in a safer setting rather than abandoned in streets or other dangerous locations.[7] The foundation helped care for children directly and arranged placements with families, while Bilquis became particularly involved in maternity and adoption services.[2]
The foundation also handled unclaimed bodies and provided burial arrangements. Edhi personally participated in recovering, washing and preparing bodies for burial, including those of people whose identities or families were unknown.[2] Its welfare philosophy extended services across religious and social boundaries, and arrangements could be made for deceased people according to their own religious traditions.[10]
Humanitarian work outside Pakistan
The Edhi Foundation extended disaster and humanitarian relief beyond Pakistan. Its work included assistance in countries affected by war, earthquakes, displacement and other emergencies. Reports documented Edhi Foundation relief activities in countries including Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Iran, Sri Lanka, Croatia and Indonesia.[12]
Following Hurricane Katrina in the United States in 2005, the foundation contributed US$100,000 toward relief efforts.[7][12] Such operations reflected Edhi's view that humanitarian assistance should not be restricted by national, racial or religious boundaries.[3]
Principles and personal life
Edhi emphasized voluntary public support rather than dependence on government financing. The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation reported that he rejected offers of government assistance and built his organization primarily through contributions from members of the public.[2] The Balzan Foundation similarly described the Edhi Foundation as operating through local volunteers and private donations.[1]
Despite overseeing a large welfare organization, Edhi maintained a notably simple personal lifestyle. Contemporary reports described him as owning few clothes and living in a small room connected to the foundation's offices in Karachi.[12][11] The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation reported that Edhi and his wife did not draw salaries from the charitable organization.[2]
Edhi married Bilquis Edhi, a nurse who became a central figure in the foundation's work. She managed maternity, women's and adoption services and worked alongside him for decades.[2] The couple had four children.[2] Their son Faisal Edhi subsequently assumed leadership responsibilities in the organization and serves as chairman at its head office.[13]
Awards and recognition
Edhi received numerous Pakistani and international honors for his humanitarian work.
In 1986, Abdul Sattar and Bilquis Edhi jointly received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service. The award recognized the welfare and health network they had created, including assistance for abandoned children, people without shelter and impoverished people requiring medical or burial services.[2]
Edhi later received the Lenin Peace Prize and Pakistan's Nishan-e-Imtiaz in recognition of his social and humanitarian services.[6] In 2000, the International Balzan Foundation awarded him the Balzan Prize for Humanity, Peace and Fraternity among Peoples, citing his lifelong work for poor and neglected people and for peace.[3]
In 2006, the Institute of Business Administration, Karachi awarded Edhi an honorary Doctor of Social Services Management degree.[14] In 2009, he was named a recipient of the UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence.[5]
Edhi's life and work also attracted international attention beyond formal awards. He became one of Pakistan's most widely recognized humanitarian figures, while his austere way of life and direct involvement in welfare work formed an important part of his public reputation.[11][12]
Illness and death
Edhi developed kidney failure and was undergoing dialysis from 2013. Because of his health and age, he was considered unsuitable for a kidney transplant. In 2016 he declined an offer to seek treatment abroad and chose to continue receiving treatment in Pakistan.[9]
His condition deteriorated in July 2016, and he died at the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation in Karachi on 8 July 2016. He was 88 according to the birth date used by his foundation and Pakistani official sources.[9][6]
Edhi had expressed a wish for his organs to be donated after his death. Because of his medical condition, most could not be used, but his corneas were recovered by doctors and transplanted into two patients with visual impairment.[15]
Funeral
Edhi was accorded a state funeral on 9 July 2016. Funeral prayers were held at the National Stadium in Karachi and were attended by thousands of people as well as Pakistan's senior civilian and military leadership.[16]
The Pakistan Army provided a guard of honour and a 19-gun salute. Edhi was subsequently taken to Edhi Village on the outskirts of Karachi, where he was buried in a grave site he had selected years earlier.[16][17]
Legacy
The Edhi Foundation continued operating after its founder's death, with Faisal Edhi taking a leading role in the organization.[13] Its ambulance, medical, shelter, burial, child-care and emergency relief programs continued the model of welfare developed during Abdul Sattar Edhi's lifetime.
Pakistan Post issued a commemorative postage stamp depicting Edhi on 14 August 2016.[18] On 28 February 2017, Google marked what would have been his 89th birthday with a Google Doodle highlighting his humanitarian work and ambulance service.[19]
The State Bank of Pakistan issued a 50-rupee commemorative coin in his memory on 31 March 2017. The bank stated that the coin was authorized in recognition of his services to Pakistan and humanity.[20]
Edhi's model of privately supported, non-discriminatory welfare remains closely associated with humanitarian service in Pakistan. His work combined emergency response with long-term support for people who had limited access to family care, medical treatment, shelter or other social services.[3][2]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "Abdul Sattar Edhi: Biography". International Balzan Foundation. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 "Edhi, Abdul Sattar". Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation. 1986. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "Abdul Sattar Edhi: 2000 Balzan Prize for Humanity, Peace and Fraternity among Peoples". International Balzan Foundation. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Largest volunteer ambulance organisation". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Laureates". UNESCO. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Death anniversary of Abdul Sattar Edhi observed". Radio Pakistan. 8 July 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Jon Boone, "Abdul Sattar Edhi obituary". The Guardian. 13 July 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ "Founder Profile". Edhi Foundation. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "Celebrated humanitarian Abdul Sattar Edhi passes away in Karachi". Dawn. 8 July 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "An Introduction to the Abdul Sattar Foundation". International Balzan Foundation. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Max Bearak, "Abdul Sattar Edhi: He was a hero to Pakistan's poor and needy". The Washington Post. 8 July 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 "Pakistan's Mother Teresa". The News International, Reuters. 9 July 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Organizational Chart". Edhi Foundation. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ "History & Timeline". Institute of Business Administration, Karachi. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ Hasan Mansoor, "Eyes donated by Edhi transplanted into two blind people". Dawn. 10 July 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Abdul Sattar Edhi laid to rest after state funeral at Karachi National Stadium". Dawn. 9 July 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ Shazia Hasan, "Edhi laid to rest after state funeral in Karachi". Dawn. 10 July 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ "Pakistan Post Stamps – 2016". Pakistan Post. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ "Abdul Sattar Edhi's 89th Birthday". Google Doodles. 28 February 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
- ↑ "State Bank to Issue Rs. 50/- Abdul Sattar Edhi Commemorative Coin from March 31, 2017". State Bank of Pakistan. 28 March 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2026.