IN 1986 Islamkot was a tiny town of Thar. At a midnoon of the hot summer, it was wrapped in the haze of dust with clouds of blowing sand. A four-wheel truck (Kekra) loaded with about 60 migratory labourers, some of them travelling on the roof and hanging by the sides, stopped in front of a thatched hut. A man in his 50s sporting a Jinnah cap and a thick black shirt rushed towards a charpai placed beside us.

He stretched out into a damp corner with a half-filled mud-made water pot, enjoying the cool silky soft feel of it. Only Thari knows what it is like to be close to a mud-pot filled with water and covered with wet grass in the desert sandstorm of sizzling summer. But this man was not from Thar.

We had seen his portraits in newspapers and our teachers often cited him as an angel. Excitedly, we whirled and asked: ‘Sattar Edhi, sir? Where are you going on this hot day?”. Pat came the reply, “Nagarparkar. I am going to make arrangements for an ambulance service.’’

The hotel waiter put dal roti before him. As he started the meal, we suggested: “Would you like to stay with us at our village? We are afraid you will not find a suitable stay at Nagarparkar. It is a small village having five or six small shops.’’ He said: “ I would sleep there on the ground, or in any mosque if the Imam allows me to do so.”

Now someone from the roof of the truck shouted: “Chacha! hurry up. Get in ... it is ready to go,” and Edhi jumped in, leaving the meal unfinished.

He was ‘larger than life’, a legend of generations, a human from within us who opted out of the life that we all have. Long live Edhi!

Allah Nawaz Samoo

Nagarparkar, Tharparkar

(2)

A PRIVATE TV channel is spearheading a vigorous campaign to declare July 8 the National Charity Day to honour Abdul Sattar Edhi, the great icon of humanity. The purpose of the campaign is ostensibly holistic and altruistic.

Unintended consequences of the project may not be the same as desired by the admirers of one of the greatest sons of Pakistan. My anguished reservation is that status quo is trying to own the legacy of Edhi.

M.A. Jinnah, Zulfikar Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto, among others, are already being used to block change. Even democracy has been sanctified to become a sophisticated weapon in the hands of those who are votaries of the most rotten system plaguing us today. Even uttering a single word against democracy is treated as an act of blasphemy.

Status quo is like a chameleon which changes colours to hide its sinister motives and ugly face. This grand deception is taking place all over the world in the name of God, human rights and charitable endeavours. Edhi is larger than life and bigger than charity which is being deployed as a lollypop to silence the vast majority unable to make both ends meet.

Edhi is a way of life but our rulers want to deflect attention from their misdeeds by announcing national days in honour of national heroes. Presidents and prime ministers will be more than happy to donate generously to the charity fund instituted in the name of great human beings but they will not live a simple and honest life patterned after their supposed idols.

The nation should rise and call upon the rulers to walk the talk and live like the people who devoted their lives in service of the downtrodden. If this is not done, national charity days will provide a convenient tool to the filthy rich to whiten their ill-gotten money and to show an artificial face of their virtue.

B. A. Malik

Islamabad

(3)

ALL and sundry paid rich tributes to Abdul Sattar Edhi for the selfless services he rendered for the welfare of humanity, and he really deserves the accolade.

My question is: how many of his fans will come forward to help continue his mission? Will our ruling class ever think of allocating a portion of our national wealth for selfless services of the under-privileged people to alleviate poverty and mitigate public woes.

Will the corrupt learn a lesson from Edhi’s services to return the looted money to the national kitty? There is a dire need for every patriotic Pakistani to follow in Edhi’s footsteps.

M. Izhar Ali Shah

Peshawar

Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2016