Islamabad (Staff Report/Agencies): Pakistan foreign Office has confirmed that the death toll of Pakistani nationals martyred in Friday's terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, has reached nine.
“Mr Zeeshan Raza, his father Mr Ghulam Hussain and mother Ms. Karam bibi have now been confirmed to have embraced shahadat in the terrorist attack in New Zealand. We are in touch with their family. A total of 9 Pakistanis embraced shahadat in New Zealand terror attack,” FO spokesman Dr Mohammad Faisal tweeted.
The names of Pakistanis who lost their lives in Friday's attack are:
Mr Sohail Shahid
Syed Jahandad Ali
Syed Areeb Ahmed
Mr Mahboob Haroon
Mr Naeem Rashid
Mr Talha Naeem
Mr Zeeshan Raza
Mr Ghulam Hussain
Ms Karam
Naeem Rashid, one of the martyred is being hailed as a hero for his courageous attempt to stop the terrorist who opened fire at the Al Noor mosque. He succumbed to injuries on Friday night. Talha Naeem, Rashid's son, was also among those who died in the attack.
Earlier, the FO had said that nine Pakistanis were missing since the attack on two Christchurch mosques that left at least 49 people dead.
A 28-year-old right-wing extremist Brenton Tarrant attacked two mosques in Christchurch. 41 people lost their lives at the Al Noor Mosque, while seven more died at a mosque in the suburb of Linwood.
On Saturday, the terrorist appeared in a local court on murder charges. He was remanded in custody with no bail requested and is scheduled to appear in the South Island city’s High Court on April 5 and will likely face further charges.