I SUGGEST a prestigious award for Abdul Sattar Edhi, an international social worker, should be announced by some reputed international organisation for saving the lives of thousands of innocent people of Lyari recently.

He remained under siege for eight days during the ill-planned police operation. As a result of the operation, the people of Lyari were deprived of basic facilities like food, water, gas, electricity and medicines, and they were not allowed even to come out of their homes for treatment, even pregnant women were not allowed to go to maternity homes as there was no interval in the operation.

Even some social organisations that brought food for the stranded residents were not allowed to enter the area. Nonetheless, it was Mr Edhi who cautioned the Sindh coalition government that if the siege was continued any further, thousands of innocent people would die.

The government that launched the Lyari operation had detained Mr Edhi whereas his highly efficient ambulance service was also stopped from operating in Lyari.

MOHAMMAD KHAN SIAL Karachi