KARACHI: Thieves on Sunday looted the welfare centre and residence of Pakistan’s legendary social worker Abul Sattar Edhi and took away cash and gold worth tens of millions of rupees.
Police said that at least eight robbers entered the Edhi Centre, located at Meetha Dar, a part of the old city, and took all the workers and Edhi hostage on gunpoint for about half an hour.
The robbers took the keys of the vault from Edhi and also broke down the steel cupboards and collected some five kilogrammes of gold ornaments, foreign and local currency worth Rs50 million (Dh1.79 million) including $400,000 (Dh1.47 million) and other valuables.
Edhi, who runs the largest ambulance network and welfare centres in the country has gained respect across the nation for his humility and selfless work. The social worker who lives in one-room house raises funds for the centres through charities and donations.
The 90-year old Edhi has even come on the streets to seek help for calamity hit people. He runs hundreds of secular orphanages and shelter homes across the country.
Police sources said at the time of robbery, the CCTV at Edhi centre was not working and there was no security guards. The police is however, scanning other CCTV footage installed in the area.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the robbery and ordered authorities to take immediate action to arrest the culprits.
Karachi police chief Ghulam Qadir Thebo set up a team headed by the deputy inspector general of southern district and have been ordered to submit a report within 24 hours.
For past one year, Edhi has been undergoing dialysis after both of his kidneys failed, but he still visits the centres regularly.
Robberies are quite common in this mega city, but usually criminals target banks, money exchange companies, households and shops. This was the first time they went after a charity office.
The robbery took a day place after the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP rally of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, where more than 22,000 policemen were deployed.
