Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Faisal Sunday confirmed that three more Pakistanis had been martyred in the horrific terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.
In his tweet, Dr Faisal said Zeeshan Raza, his father Ghulam Hussain and mother Karam bibi have now been confirmed to have embraced martyrdom in the terrorist attack. He said a total of nine Pakistani have embraced martyrdom in attack on two mosques.
The names of Pakistanis who lost their lives in Friday’s attack are: Sohail Shahid, Syed Jahandad Ali, Syed Areeb Ahmed, Mahboob Haroon, Naeem Rashid, Talha Naeem, Zeeshan Raza, Ghulam Hussain and Karam.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told a private TV channel said that families of four Pakistani martyrs of Christchurch terror attack have requested for bringing bodies of their loved ones to Pakistan, while relatives of two victims wanted their burial in New Zealand. He said the government will fully cooperate in bringing the bodies of four Pakistani martyrs back to the country.
The bodies of some of the victims in New Zealand’s mosque shootings were set to be released on Sunday to loved ones for burial, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said, as the death toll rose to 50 when police found another body.
Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, a white supremacist, was charged with murder on Saturday. Tarrant was remanded without a plea and is due back in court on April 5 where police said he was likely to face more charges.
Friday’s attack, which Ardern labelled terrorism, was the worst ever peacetime mass killing in New Zealand and it has raised its security threat level to the highest.
Footage of the attack on one of the mosques in the city of Christchurch was broadcast live on Facebook, and a ‘manifesto’ denouncing immigrants as ‘invaders’ was also posted online via links to related social media accounts.
Huge piles of flowers were laid at sites near the mosques and passers-by of all faiths stopped to pay respects. Ardern said police would be posted at all mosques while they are open.
Police Commissioner Mike Bush said the body of the 50th victim was found at the Al Noor mosque, where more than 40 people died after a gunman entered and shot at people with a semi-automatic rifle with high-capacity magazines, before travelling to a second mosque. Police rammed the suspect’s vehicle and arrested him as he drove away from the second mosque in the suburb of Linwood. Bush said the man was apprehended 36 minutes after police were alerted.
Published in Daily Times, March 18th 2019.
