Pak to give national award to citizen killed trying to overpower NZ mosque attacker

Team Udayavani, Mar 17, 2019, 10:45 AM IST

Islamabad: A courageous Pakistani national who died in the ghastly Christchurch terror attack on two mosques will be conferred with a national award posthumously for trying to tackle the White supremacist gunman before being shot dead by him.

Naeem Rashid, a resident of Jinnahabad in Abbottabad and a professor in New Zealand, was present at the Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch when the terrorist opened fire on Friday and killed 50 worshippers.

Prime Minister Imran Khan extended support to the families and also announced to award a Pakistani who tried to tackle the attacker but was killed.

“We stand ready to extend all our support to the families of Pakistani victims of the terrorist attack in Christchurch. Pakistan is proud of Mian Naeem Rashid who was killed trying to tackle the White Supremacist terrorist & his courage will be recognised with a national award,” Khan tweeted on Sunday.

Rashid’s 22-year-old son, Talha Naeem, a civil engineering graduate, was among those who lost their lives in the shooting.

Rashid, who was injured in his bid to overpower the attacker, passed away on Saturday after succumbing to his injuries.

Pakistan Foreign Office on Sunday confirmed, nine Pakistani national were killed in the attack that took place on Friday.

The 28-year-old gunman, identified Brenton Tarrant, live-streamed footage of himself going room-to-room, victim to victim, shooting the wounded from close range as they struggled to crawl away.

The attack has shocked New Zealanders, who are used to seeing around 50 murders a year in the entire country of 4.8 million and pride themselves on living in a secure and welcoming place.

Police warned Muslims all over the country not to visit mosques “anywhere in New Zealand” in the wake of the Christchurch attacks.