Nine Pakistanis were pronounced dead by New Zealand s authorities in Friday s terror attack on two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch, according to Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) Spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal.
He took to Twitter on Sunday and informed that Zeeshan Raza, his father Ghulam Hussain and mother Karam bibi have been confirmed dead, raising the death toll of martyred Pakistanis to nine.
The list of martyred Pakistanis include:
Mr. Sohail Shahid
Syed Jahandad Ali (Lahore)
Syed Areeb Ahmed (Karachi)
Mr. Mahboob Haroon (Islamabad)
Mr. Naeem Rashid (Abbotabad)
Mr. Talha Naeem (Abbotabad)
Mr Zeeshan Raza
Mr Ghulam Hussain
Ms Karam
Mr Zeeshan Raza, his father Mr Ghulam Hussain and mother Ms. Karam bibi have now been confirmed to have embraced shahadat in the terrroist attack in #NewZealand. We are in touch with their family. A total of 9 Pakistanis embraced shahadat in #NewZealandTerrorAttack
Furthermore, a circular was released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad notifying details regarding visa facilitation for the immediate family members of the victims.
According to the notification, family members can log in here to apply for a visit visa. Once applications are submitted, the applicants are advised to send their application numbers, along with scanned copies of their passports to Mr Moin Fudda, Honorary Consul General of New Zealand for Pakistan at:
Email: moin@fudda.org
Whatsapp: +923428200200
In the event of any difficulties, for example in filling out financial details, the applicants should inform by letter that they are the relatives of the victims of the Christchurch attack, the circular further advises.
Dr Faisal, in a Twitter post, had also stated that Rashid and his son Talha will be buried in Christchurch for which arrangements have been made with the assistance of Muslim and Pakistani associations in the city.
He said that the Pakistani Mission in the city is working with the families of the other seven victims for the transportation of their bodies to Pakistan.
Rashid was identified by a relative from the video live-streamed by the attacker. He had attempted to stop the assailant as he gunned victims down in the mosque.
An injured Pakistani Amin Nasir, hailing from Hafizabad, suffered severe bullet wounds and is availing treatment at a hospital. His family members in Pakistan have been undergoing extreme distress.
Pakistani software engineer Syed Jahandad Ali, hailed from Karachi and had been working in Christchurch. He left his children in Pakistan about a month ago while his wife is residing in Lahore. His uncle Shahid told the media that they came to hear about his death through media reports. Since then, the family members have been mourning his death. Jahandad was about to visit Pakistan on March 23, and his family had been preparing for his visit.
