LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Najam Sethi took to twitter on Sunday evening to announce that he has proposed to the PCB Board of Governors to rename Lahore Qaddafi Stadium after the slain Abdul Sattar Edhi.
Earlier, a petition campaign has been started demanding to rename Islamabad Airport after Abdul Sattar Edhi. The petition demands to rename the airport as “Edhi International Airport”.
The second airport in the federal capital is expected to be completed by December 2016, and many people believe that now is the best time to kick-start a campaign to rename it after one of the country’s most well-known humanitarians.
So far around 26,993 people have already signed the petition that can be found online. Revered by many as a national hero, Abdul Sattar Edhi created a charitable empire out of nothing. He masterminded Pakistan’s largest welfare organisation almost single-handedly, entirely with private donations.
Edhi was diagnosed with kidney failure in 2013 but had been unable to get a transplant due to frail health and was receiving treatment at the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT).
While undergoing a scheduled dialysis on Friday, Edhi felt difficulty breathing after which doctors decided to shift him onto a ventilator. The humanitarian passed away at the age of 88 in Karachi on Friday night. Thousands of people, including high-profile politicians and government officials, gathered at the National Stadium to attend Edhi’s funeral prayers on Saturday.
The iconic social worker was given a guard of honour and a 19-gun salute by the Pakistan Army as his body was taken away from the National Stadium after a state funeral. His body was then taken to Edhi village, where he was laid to rest.