KARACHI – Faisal Edhi – the son of Abdul Sattar Edhi – has apologised to the public over certain restrictions which prevented common people from attending the funeral prayer of the late philanthropist.
In an interview, he said: “the common people were very close to Edhi Sahab in his life but roads were closed on the day of his funeral and as a result, the public were unable to reach the National Stadium, I am so sorry for this.”
He went on to say that the common people are always welcome to visit Edhi Sahab’s grave and offer Fateha. We also have no objection if anyone wants to hold a funeral prayer in absentia for my father, he added.
We also have no objection if anyone wants to hold a funeral prayer in absentia for my father, he added.
Responding to a question, he said that funding an organisation like Edhi Foundation has always been a challenge and after the death of Abdul Sattar Edhi, it will be harder, but we will continue the journey with the same pace.
On the occasion, he also urged the social society of Pakistan to play an active role to defuse the propaganda against Edhi Foundation and continue to fund the organisation.
The founder of Edhi Foundation, Abdul Sattar Edhi, had passed away on Friday late night.
Later on Saturday, he was laid to rest at Edhi Village, following a state funeral attended by President Mamnoon Hussain, the three services chiefs, two chief ministers, Sindh governor and thousands of others including political and rights activists.
Following the funeral, an online circulating picture which showed a wide distance between the first two rows – where top level dignitaries were present- and the third row -where the general public stood- sparked criticism and some people blamed that VIPs had “hijacked” the funeral.
The strict security measures to protect the VIPs also created panic among the citizens and thousands of them refrained from coming to the National Stadium for the funeral prayers.
However, when asked if Edhi’s funeral was hijacked by top elite, Faisal Edhi responded: “I do not agree with this, the state also had a responsibility to Edhi Sahab and this was meant to be done this way, however, I have a disagreement with such authoritative steps”.
