People in India remember her fondly: PM Modi condoles death of Pakistani philanthropist Bilquis Edhi

In a tweet, the PM said that Bilquis Edhi's dedication to humanitarian work touched the lives of people everywhere. 

“My sincere condolences on the passing of Bilquis Edhi. Her life long dedication to humanitarian work touched the lives of people across the globe. People in India too remember her fondly. May her soul rest in peace.”

Bilquis Edhi, the wife of late renowned Pakistani philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi, died on Friday in Karachi. She was 74.

The Indian High Commission on Saturday expressed its condolences in a tweet.

“High Commission of India expresses its heartfelt condolences on the passing away of Bilquis Edhi. Hers and Edhi foundation's humanitarian assistance is well appreciated across borders. RIP @Edhiorg,” it said. 

Bilquis Edhi had been undergoing treatment in a private hospital for the last six days after suffering cardiac arrest. 

She was suffering from high blood pressure and diabetes. She died of a heart attack on Friday. 

Bilquis Edhi became the chairperson of the Edhi Foundation after the death of Abdul Sattar Edhi. 

She was a professional nurse and one of the most active philanthropists in Pakistan. 

She had been nicknamed "The Mother of Pakistan". She was born in 1947 in Karachi and was head the Bilquis Edhi Foundation. 

Along with her husband she received the 1986 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service.

Her charity runs many services in Pakistan including a hospital and emergency service in Karachi. 

Last year, Bilquis was declared the 'Person of the Decade', along with human rights rapporteur of the UN Prof Yanghee Lee and the US ethicist Stephen Soldz. 

Her charity saved over 42,000 unwanted babies so far by placing “jhoolas” [cradles] at the Edhi Homes and centres across the country. 

Geeta, a deaf-mute woman in her early 20s, was sent back to India in October 2015 after spending 13 years in Pakistan, looked after by the Edhi Foundation.

Geeta was about 11-years-old when she had wandered across the border and landed in Lahore.

Her story captivated both Pakistanis and Indians following the release of the Bollywood film with a similar plot in 2015 –"Bajrangi Bhaijaan”, in which actor Salman Khan plays an Indian man who travels to Pakistan to reunite a deaf-mute girl with her family.

The Edhi Foundation was taking care of Geeta since 2003. After her story became known in the media in 2015, arrangements were made by the then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to have her flown back to India. 

Last year in March, when India was impacted very badly with the Delta variant of the coronavirus, the Edhi Foundation had offered to send a fleet of 50 ambulances to India to assist with the massive surge in Covid cases. 

Faisal Edhi, the director of Edhi Foundation and the son of late Abdul Sattar Edhi, the founder of the organisation, had conveyed the offer in a letter to PM Modi. 

“We are very sorry to hear about the exceptionally heavy impact that the pandemic has had on your country, where a tremendous number of people are suffering immensely. As a neighbouring friend, we sympathise with you greatly and during this strenuous time, we would like to extend our help in the form of fleet of 50 ambulances along with our services to assist you in addressing, and further circumventing, the current health conditions,” read the letter, which was sent to the Indian mission in Islamabad.

(With UNI inputs)