Pakistan's Mother Teresa dies

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – Dr. Ruth Pfau, a German doctor, who led the fight against leprosy in Pakistan died on Wednesday. She was 87.

Dr. Pfau was undergoing treatment for the past two weeks at the Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre, which she had founded in 1960 in the commercial capital Karachi, local broadcaster Dawn News reported.

Her last rites will be performed at Karachi’s Saint Patrick’s Church on Aug. 19.

A devout Christian, she had come to Muslim-dominated Pakistan in 1960, which she made her home for the next 57 years. She was granted Pakistan’s citizenship in 1988.

She began her fight against leprosy in the days when this disease was thought to be contagious, and families would throw lepers out of their homes.

Her commitment won her the pet name of Pakistan’s Mother Teresa.

The Pakistan government recognized her selfless service by awarding her the country’s second-highest civilian award ‘Hilal-i-Imtiaz’ in 1979, and later ‘Hilal-e-Pakistan’ in 1989.

The Marie Adelaide Leprosy Center is the first leprosy center in the private sector in Pakistan.

It registers 500 leprosy cases every year, hospital officials said.