Monday 25th May, 2026
Islamabad, Mar 16: (Xinhua) At least four Pakistanis have reportedly been killed and nine others are still missing after the terrorist attacks at two mosques in Christchurch city of New Zealand, which killed 49 people and injured 48 others, local media and officials said Saturday afternoon.
Local media quoted sources from overseas Pakistanis in Christchurch as saying that four Pakistani nationals have succumbed to their injuries during treatment in hospitals.
The killed people include Naeem Rashid and his young son Talha Naeem who migrated to New Zealand from Pakistan’s northwest city of Abbottabad. Rashid was injured seriously in the attack when he attempted to overpower the shooter after his son was shot dead in front of him, said local news channel Dunya.
On Saturday, the spokesperson of Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Faisal released a list of nine Pakistanis who are missing after the attacks.
“Our mission in New Zealand is trying to ascertain further details,” said the spokesman, adding that a Pakistani national is in critical condition in a hospital.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry has also established a crises management cell in Islamabad to seek updates from New Zealand and coordinate with the affected Pakistani families.
According to local media reports, over 5,000 overseas Pakistanis are living in New Zealand.
Pakistan strongly condemned the attacks on Friday and termed them as a heinous assault on the values of freedom of conscience and association, common to all mankind.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian Immigration Ministry confirmed in a statement on Saturday that four Egyptians were killed in the terrorist attacks on two New Zealand mosques in Friday.
The Ministry of Immigration and Egyptian Expatriates’ Affairs contacted the Egyptian Embassy in New Zealand on Saturday to check on the Egyptians living there following the attacks that left at least 49 dead and more than 40 others injured.
According to the statement, Egyptian Ambassador to New Zealand Tarek el-Wassimy told Immigration Minister Nabila Makram that the embassy assigned four employees to accompany and assist the family of each of the four Egyptian victims.
“Their bodies are scheduled to be transferred back to Egypt and buried on Tuesday,” said the statement.
The Egyptian ambassador said that the number of wounded Egyptians hasn’t yet been confirmed, as the authorities in New Zealand focused on rescuing them in the first place regardless of their nationalities.
A 28-year-old Australian is currently facing charges of carrying out Friday’s terror attacks that have been met by worldwide rejection and condemnation.
The terror attack in Christchurch in New Zealand has left two Indians injured and five people missing, official sources said here on Saturday.
According to the Indian official sources, two more people of ‘Indian origin’ are also injured but details are being ascertained.
Due to certain processes involved, final confirmation from New Zealand about injuries and other details may take a while to come in.
The Embassy in New Zealand has set up 24×7 helpline numbers to offer assistance and information on this tragedy.
Denouncing Friday’s attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said hatred and violence cannot have any place in diverse and democratic societies.
In a letter addressed to his New Zealand counterpart Jacinda Ardern, Mr Modi expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the bereaved in the dastardly attack.
He also said “hatred and violence have no place in diverse and democratic societies”.
Gunmen opened fire inside two mosques in Christchurch during afternoon prayers on Friday, killing at least 49 people and injuring several others.