KARACHI: Last rites with full state honours are under way in Karachi for Pakistan’s ‘Mother Teresa’ Dr Ruth Pfau, who passed away earlier this month after dedicating a lifetime to fighting leprosy in the country.
Armed forces carried the casket containing Dr Ruth’s body to St Patrick’s Cathedral in Saddar in a gun convoy – the highest military honour at a funeral last accorded to humanitarian icon Abdul Sattar Edhi. The casket was draped in the national flag of Pakistan.
The flag of Vatican City was also hoisted at the cathedral Saturday morning, while the national flag of Pakistan remained at half mast.
A 19-gun salute was offered during the funeral proceedings, with contingents of all three Armed Forces of Pakistan present on the occasion.
Dr Ruth will be laid to rest at the city’s Gora Qabristan, after her final rites are completed at the cathedral.
Patients and workers of Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre (MALC), founded by Dr Ruth to serve the leprosy patients in Pakistan, gathered around her body earlier on Saturday to take one last look at the humanitarian hero whose life-long struggle helped Pakistan defeat leprosy.
Reminiscing about Dr Ruth’s days at the centre, MALC staff member Maryam Yaqoob told Geo News the German medic would greet patients with flowers and cake every morning.
Yaqoob, who was a patient before being treated and appointed as a staff member, said Dr Ruth was a beacon of hope and support for those who had been banished by their families.
She added Dr Ruth would celebrate her birthday as Patients Day every year, but this year she celebrated it as Family Day.
Born in 1929, the German-Pakistani national Dr Ruth breathed her last after prolonged illness on August 10, 2017 at a private hospital in Karachi. She was 87.
Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had earlier announced a state funeral for Dr Ruth, stating: “The entire nation is indebted to Ruth Pfau for her selfless and unmatched services for the eradication of leprosy. We are proud of her exemplary services and she will remain in our hearts as a shining symbol in times ahead.”
She is only the second person to be accorded a state funeral in 29 years, with the last one offered for late philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi in 2016.
Dr Ruth visited Pakistan in the 1960s and ended up staying, adopting Pakistan as her new home as she dedicated her life to taking care of leprosy patients.
It was due to her endless struggle that Pakistan defeated the disease and became leprosy-free in 1996.
She was granted Pakistani citizenship in 1988 and received numerous accolades for her services, including the country’s top civilian awards Hilal-i-Imtiaz and Hilal-i-Pakistan.
