Murad orders provision of space for Edhi center in Thatta

Naimat Khan

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has directed Commissioner Hyderabad to make necessary arrangements for provision of office space tor Edhi Foundation in Thatta so that they could continue unhindered welfare service there.

Taking serious notice of the press conference addressed by Faisal Edhi and Balqis Edhi, the chief minister said that Edhi was doing a great service to humanity and nobody would be allowed to grab their property or disturb their welfare services.

The Commissioner Hyderabad told the chief minister that the local administration of Thatta has not shut the center of the Edhi Foundation but it has been shut on the orders of the court. On this the chief minister directed him to provide an adequate space to Edhi for establishment of their center at Thatta till the case is decided.

He directed the commissioner Hyderabad to look after Edhi Foundation properly and solve their matters on top priority basis. “They [Edhi} are doing best service for humanity and it becomes our responsibility to support them and help them in their services,” he said.

The chief minister also spoke to Commissioner Karachi and directed him to meet Faisal Edhi personally and solve his problems. “This is quite surprising and deplorable that the people of land mafia are grabbing the property of the Edhi Foundation,” he said and asked where the administration is and what they are doing? The person like Faisal Edhi should not be made so helpless that they had to reach the administration and government through press conferences. “It is our responsibility to remain in touch with them so that they keep their service continue and improve them further,” he said.

Earlier, Sindh Home Minister Suhail Anwar Siyal also took notice of the Edhi Foundation Thatta centre being shut down allegedly over a property dispute.

He directed the provincial home secretary to call for a report from Sindh Inspector General A.D. Khowaja seeking an explanation as to why the centre has been sealed with the help of Thatta’s local police.

A day earlier, Bilquis and Faisal Edhi — the wife and son of eminent social worker Abdul Sattar Edhi — had claimed that Edhi welfare centres in several cities and towns of Sindh have been illegally occupied by “influential local figures”.

During the press conference, Faisal had said that the Thatta welfare centre, spread over an area of 1,000 square yards, had been locked by the local administration upon a court’s order in a property dispute with a private person.

The Edhis said that the land mafia and district administrations, including the police, were hands in glove in stopping the foundation from delivering humanitarian services across the province.

Faisal had claimed that the district administration had closed the centre to cover up the encroachment of the centre by a group having support of the police.

Meanwhile, Sindh Home Minister Sohail Anwar Siyal also took notice of the alleged harassment of students at Jamshoro University by their teachers, appointing Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Hyderabad Javaid Alam Odho as an inquiry officer to look into the matter.

The minister has directed the DIG to conduct a comprehensive inquiry, submit a detailed report and take all necessary legal actions to resolve the matter.

In a letter addressed to Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah and the university’s vice chancellor, two female students – writing on “behalf female students [sic] who are victims of harassment” – have sought assistance and asked that action be taken against teachers of the English Department.