KARACHI: Edhi Foundation that was already faced with financial challenges after the death of its legendary founder Abdul Sattar Edhi, has claimed that the powerful land mafia in the country has illegally occupied many of its centres in different cities and towns.

Addressing a press conference in Thatta, Faisal Edhi, the son and heir of late Abdul Sattar Edhi said that the land mafia had occupied a large number of centres of the Foundation in Sindh and Balochistan provinces that had created a lot of operation hindrances for the charity, which runs the largest ambulance service in the country.

He said that unfortunately one of the Edhi Centre was locked down under a local court order in Thatta. He said that the centre was set up in 1985 and the National Highway Authority (NHA) had properly allotted the land for the purpose.

“The land mafia is the most powerful entity in the country and they have not even spared the charity organisations like us,” he said.

He said that the land mafia has occupied Edhi welfare centre in Latifabad, Hyderabad. At the Edhi centre in Moro, the land mafia forcibly build commercial shops on an area of 3,000 square yards.

Likewise, he said that Edhi centres in Qazi Ahmad, Sehwan, Larkana and Hala have also been captured by the encroachers.

Faisal said that the Edhi centre at Hub Chowki is still occupied by the land mafia, despite the fact that the Balochistan High Court and the Supreme Court of Pakistan have issued orders in favour of Edhi Foundation.

Meanwhile, taking the notice of the rampant encroachments of Edhi centres in the province, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Thursday ordered the commissioners of Karachi and Hyderabad cities to assess the problem the Edhi Foundation was facing and submit a report to his office.

He also ordered the administration to vet the court documents in order the strengthen the Edhi cases in the courts.

”We will not let any body creating problems for the Edhi Foundation’s welfare work,” Shah was quoted as saying in an official statement.

Edhi foundation has been facing hardship in its routine operations because of decrease in donations to the charity after the death of its founder Abdul Sattar Ehdi, who ran the charity successfully for more than five decades.

Faisal and Bilqees Edhi, the widow of Abdul Sattar Edhi, have been trying their best to run the Foundation.