Pakistani flag will remain half-mast at all national buildings on Monday to mourn the deaths of Pakistanis who were martyred, among others, in the terrorist attacks on mosques in New Zealand.
Addressing a news briefing in Islamabad on Sunday, he said the Prime Minister has also decided that martyred Mian Naeem Rashid will be given national award on 23rd of March this year for his heroic struggle against the white supremacist terrorist during the attack.
The Minister said he made a contact with his Turkish counterpart and it has been decided to convene an emergency meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on 22nd of this month in Istanbul. He said Turkey being chair of the council floated the idea and Pakistan has seconded it.
During the meeting, efforts will be made to unify the Ummah and devise a strategy to know the root causes of growing Islamophobia in West and its implications for Muslims around the world. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said he will represent Pakistan in the meeting.
Shah Mehmood Qureshi said he spoke to New Zealand Foreign Minister on telephone in length who said the assailant attacked two mosques and the whole act continued for 36 minutes. He said the identification of bodies was a complicated and difficult process but all of them have been identified and from tomorrow the process of handing these over to relatives will start. The New Zealand Foreign Minister further told that investigation is being held on the motives of terrorist.
The Foreign Minister said casualties of Pakistanis stand at 10 and one of them is a critically injured person who is undergoing treatment at ICU. He said fifty people were martyred in this tragic incident.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Pakistan High Commission in New Zealand is making all out efforts for affected Pakistanis in that country. He said families of six martyred want to bury them in New Zealand while three have expressed wish to bury their dead in Pakistan.
The violent terrorist attack on mosques in christ Church in New Zealand that killed around 49 innocent Muslims including women and children was the darkest incident in human history. It has put Muslims in all over the world in severe grief. It has received condemnations from all over the world. Although the response of the New Zealand government was appropriate but it is believed that it will take solid measures to protect Muslims in the future , will ensure to give harsh punishment to culprits and will expose hidden hands behind it. It is also responsibility of Muslims world to take joint efforts to ensure the safty of the Muslims around the world. The international community needs to take steps to crush such ugly racism and growing islamphobia to to make the world peaceful.