Eight Pakistanis to be buried in New Zealand, confirms HC

WELLINGTON: High Commissioner to New Zealand Dr Abdul Malik has confirmed that eight Pakistani martyrs will be buried in New Zealand while the body of one will be sent back to the home, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

Dr Abdul Malik said in his latest statement that families of eight martyrs, who lost their lives in horrible Christchurch mosques’ attack, have decided to bury their beloved ones in New Zealand.

Malik added that the body of a Pakistani martyr, Syed Areeb Ahmed, will be sent back to Karachi over the request of his relatives.

“Arrival of the body in Pakistan [from New Zealand] will take minimum 10 days,” the high commission said.

Read More: Syrian refugee father and son buried as New Zealand funerals begin

“New Zealand has asked to bear all expenses of body’s transfer to Pakistan. The Government of Pakistan had also offered to pay overall expenses.”

While detailing the development of another Pakistani injured, the high commission said that Amin Nasir’s health condition bettered who belongs to Hafizabad. He added that Nasir was currently unconscious and on life support.

“I’ve visited and inquired after his [Amir Nasir] health. Doctors were seen as hopeful for his recovery.”

The official said that Amir Nasir had arrived in Christchurch to meet his son who is residing here in New Zealand but he had faced the horrible terror attack.

Read More: ‘Power of faith’: PM tweets inspiring interview of Christchurch hero Naeem Rashid’s widow

An Australian white supremacist gunned down 50 Muslim worshippers at two mosques in the southern city of Christchurch last Friday in a killing spree that he live-streamed and which has sparked global revulsion.

 

First funerals

A Syrian refugee and his son were buried in New Zealand in the first funerals of those killed in the twin mosque massacre as Kiwis braced for days of emotional farewells following the mass slayings.

Hundreds of mostly Muslim mourners gathered Wednesday morning at a cemetery not far from Linwood Mosque, the second of the two places of worship targeted.

 

There they prayed and laid to rest Khalid Mustafa and his 15-year-old son Hamza, their names broadcast over a loudspeaker.

The family arrived last year as refugees from the Syrian maelstrom only to find tragedy in a land where they had sought sanctuary.

Foreign Office confirmation

On March 17, the Foreign Office had confirmed the death of three more Pakistanis in Christchurch mosque shootings, increasing the number of Pakistanis who embraced martyrdom in the incident to nine.

 

According to spokesman Dr Muhammad Faisal, Zeeshan Raza, his father Ghulam Hussain and mother Karam Bibi have been confirmed to have died in Friday’s terrorist attacks on two mosques in New Zealand.

“We are in touch with their family. A total of 9 Pakistanis embraced shahadat in #NewZealandTerrorAttack,” he said.