Edhi | Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The district administration on Saturday denied that it had sealed Edhi’s office in Aabpara “at any point” after the rescue service said its control room had been sealed. At the same time, in a statement, the Islamabad administration said the control room had been built on land owned by the Capital Development Authority (CDA). The administration asserted that while eviction notices had been served, no action had been taken yet to enforce them. The responses came after a statement was issued by Edhi’s Zonal office in Islamabad, which stated that its “Edhi Centre (ambulance control room) established in Aabpara for the past 40 years has been shut down by the administration”. As a result, Edhi said it was unable to continue its emergency services in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, which would “remain suspended till the administration provides us with an alternative place”. In its statement, the Edhi service insisted that the district commissioner’s office did not give any reason for the closure, nor did it re...

Three sanitation workers died as they fell into a manhole while cleaning it in Karachi’s Usmanabad neighbourhood, Edhi officials said on Sunday. Deaths from falling into open gutters and manholes frequently occur in Pakistan, particularly in major cities like Karachi, where poorly managed drainage systems, missing or broken covers, and inadequate lighting in congested neighbourhoods often put pedestrians in danger. The gutters are filled with toxic sewage and lack oxygen, making it easy to suffocate or drown within minutes. “Four people fell into a drain near Siddique Wahab Road while cleaning it, three of whom lost their lives, while another remains unconscious,” the Edhi statement said. The deceased have been identified as 22-year-old Vishal, 19-year-old Shahir, and 42-year-old George. The fourth man — identified as 26-year-old Faisal — was rushed to the Civil Hospital’s Trauma Centre, while the bodies of the deceased have been shifted to an Edhi morgue. Police surgeon Sumaiya Syed told Dawn.com that the wo...