The Sindh government has announced that it will produce a feature film about Life and Work of Abdul Sattar Edhi, the late philanthropist and founder of the Edhi Foundation.
The message was made by Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon during a film festival held in Karachi. He emphasized the importance of cinema as a medium to shape public narratives and said that although India has effectively used films to project his national narrative globally, Pakistan has not yet fully exploited this potential.
“There are countless historical and social stories in Pakistan who, if they are brought to the screen, could not only highlight our cultural wealth, but also know younger generations with national heroes,” Memon said.
He emphasized the need to tell the stories of those who have made significant contributions in different areas, and called it a timely and necessary endeavor.
The information department, he added, collaborates with veteran filmmaker Satish Anand to produce the film in Edhi’s life, although further details of the project have not yet been shared.
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Abdul Sattar Edhi, broadly reverent as “the father of the poor” and “The Angel of Mercy”, dedicated his life to humanitarian service. He was born in Gujarat in 1928 and migrated to Pakistan in 1947. In 1951 he opened his first clinic and marked the beginning of what would become the country’s largest and most respected charitable network.
Edhi and his team were nominated several times at the Nobel Peace Prize and built a large network of welfare services: maternity houses, orphanages, shelters, form, home to the elderly and rehabilitation centers for mentally and physically challenged – all with helping the most vulnerable.
His wife, Bilquis Edhi, a nurse after business, continues to oversee women’s shelters and the adoption of orphans. The Edhi Foundation has facilitated the adoption of about 25,000 children.
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Today, the fund operates blood banks, mobile clinics, ophthalmologist and diabetes centers, surgical units, a cancer hospital and crisis centers for abused women and displaced. It also supports prisoners, psychiatric patients and accident victims through various outreach initiatives.
Before his death in 2016, Edhi had launched the 50-kilometer Edhi project, which focused on relief for accident victims over Pakistan’s highways.
The planned film seeks to honor its lasting inheritance and introduce new generations to the life of a man who devoted himself to human service.
