Military brass and top politicians from nationwide also arrived at the funeral to bid farewell to the greatest humanitarian.
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The well-known and popular philanthropist who dedicated his life to humanity and social services was seen as the saviour of the poor and needy.
She said simply if Pakistani people follow his teachings and spirit, no power in the world can stop it from becoming a welfare state.
Edhi’s son Faisal Edhi had said that his father’s cornea will be donated.
The activist was laid to rest on Saturday as thousands attended his funeral prayers in Edhi village as per his last wish.
Belonging to a family of traders, Edhi settled in Karachi in 1947. He was conferred several national awards for his services to humanity.
He established the foundation nearly six decades ago which he oversaw with his wife, Bilquis Edhi. Recently, Geeta made a request that she should be allowed to travel by train all over the country in the hope that she would be able to recognise the place from where she boarded the train before being separated from her parents.
Born in 1928 in Gujarat, British India, it was at the tender age of 11 when Edhi faced the true brutality of human suffering and fight for survival when his mother was paralysed after a stroke.
Over the years, Edhi was responsible for creating orphanages, shelters for abandoned women, food kitchens, homes for the elderly, and even maternity wards to accommodate and serve Pakistan’s poorer classes.
“Before his death he had donated his coronaries and body organs”, Faisal said.
The body, draped in Pakistan’s flag, was taken to Edhi village.
Faisal said Edhi’s kidneys failed in 2013 and he was on dialysis but he couldn’t get a transplant because of his frail health.
As news broke of his death, social media lit up with tributes lauding him as “the greatest Pakistani”. President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif have expressed deep grief and sorrow over the sad demise of Abdul Sattar Eidhi.
The New York Times said the Pakistani philanthropist’s name became synonymous with charitable causes and he achieved an nearly saintly status.
He came from humble origins and remained a quiet and modest man all his life.
He received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for public service in 1986. Indeed, it was his exemplary humanitarian and philanthropic work that led him to being the second recipient of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Prize for the Advancement of Peace.
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Edhi was well-known for berating Islamist groups such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) for their attacks on civilians, criticising the government for incompetence and corruption and denouncing the elites for dodging taxes.
