PESHAWAR: Like other parts of the country, people in Peshawar also offered their condolences on the sad demise of renowned social worker and philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi and held Quran Khwani at Edhi centres in different areas here on Saturday.

The national flag flew at half mast on all the offices as the provincial government has announced three-day mourning over Edhi’s death.

A number of politicians, social workers and members of civil society organisations also visited the Edhi centres and offered their condolences and prayed to Almighty Allah to rest the departed soul in eternal peace.

Quran Khwani held at Edhi centres in Peshawar

According to Edhi Foundation’s provincial chief Mujahid Khan, several people, including ANP MNA Bushra Gohar and general secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain and PTI MPA Arif Yousuf, visited the centres and offered ‘fateha’ for the departed soul. He said that the relief and rescue services of the Edhi Foundation remained functional as usual and the workers vowed to serve the humanity with a renewed pledge to provide relief to the soul of their late leader.

KP Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry vice-president Riaz Khattak, PML-N senior vice-president Amir Muqam, PPP general secretary Mohammad Humayun Khan, PML-Q provincial president Intikhab Chamkani, PML-N MPA Sobia Khan in their separate statements also offered condolences to the bereaved family of Abdul Sattar Edhi.

They expressed their deep sorrow over the sad demise of Abdul Sattar Edhi who was a renowned social worker, philanthropist and legendary personality. They declared it a national loss and said that during his entire life Edhi served the shelter-less, orphans and the needy people of Pakistan without any discrimination. His services will always be remembered which made Pakistan prominent in the entire world.

They said that Edhi enlightened tens of thousands of people with his services and the gap after his death could not be filled. They paid tribute to his services to the mankind and prayed for eternal peace to the departed soul and for granting strength to the grieved family to bear this irreparable loss.

Sobia Khan declared the death of Abdul Sattar Edhi as a national loss and demanded of Pakistanis to observe July 8 as Edhi Day every year.

In a statement, she said that the needy and poor children had become orphan with the death of Edhi. She said that services of Edhi would not be forgotten while his name would be written in golden words in the history of Pakistan.

She demanded of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to include a chapter on Edhi’s life in the school textbooks.

Other politicians and civil society activists said that the social workers should take guidance from the life of Mr Edhi and serve the nation with selfless dedication to fulfil his mission. They also urged the government to encourage social workers as such people were very few in the society.

Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2016