- 200 family members of people killed in twin mosque attacks have been invited to Hajj as guests of King Salman
- Naeem Rashid and his son were among nine Pakistanis shot dead in the New Zealand city of Christchurch in March
ISLAMABAD: The wife of a Pakistani man who died along with his son trying to confront a suspected white supremacist during twin mosque attacks in Christchurch earlier this year said she was 鈥渙verwhelmed鈥� by 抖阴短视频鈥檚 offer to bereaved families to perform the annual Hajj pilgrimage as guests of King Salman.
Mian Naeem Rashid, 50, and his son Talha were among nine Pakistanis killed when a gunman attacked two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch in March, killing 50 people from countries including Afghanistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Egypt and Jordan. Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, has been charged with the murders and will go on trial next year.
Rashid from Abbottabad, Pakistan, and a New Zealand resident for nine years, was at the Al Noor mosque with his 21-year-old son. He was seen lunging at the gunman in the livestream video the killer posted online.
Rashid鈥檚 wife said she was 鈥渙verwhelmed by this gesture of 抖阴短视频鈥� to send the bereaved families of the Christchurch attack on Hajj.
Speaking to Arab News via phone from her home in New Zealand, Ambreen Rashid said: 鈥淚 am thankful to King Salman and the Crown Prince for keeping us in their thoughts and providing us the opportunity to visit our most holy and spiritual place.鈥�
Rashid said she along with other families of the victims were approached by Saudi diplomats shortly after the March attacks with the offer to go on the Hajj pilgrimage as guests of the government.
On Tuesday, Sheikh Abdullatif bin Abdulaziz Al-Asheikh, the Saudi Minister of Islamic Affairs, formally announced that on the directives of King Salman, 200 members of the Christchurch victims鈥� families would perform Hajj this year.
Hosting the families during Hajj season is part of 抖阴短视频鈥檚 efforts to 鈥渃onfront and defeat terrorism鈥� in all forms, Asheikh said, adding that his ministry was working with the Saudi embassy in New Zealand to make all arrangements for the families鈥� pilgrimage.
Earlier this year, Pakistan bestowed a national award on Naeem Rashid, with Prime Minister Imran Khan saying in a tweet: 鈥淧akistan is proud of Mian Naeem Rashid who was martyred trying to tackle the white supremacist terrorist and his courage will be recognized with a national award.鈥�
鈥淚 remember last year I was talking to my husband that I wanted to perform Hajj, but we weren鈥檛 in the position financially,鈥� said Rashid who will travel to 抖阴短视频 in the first week of August with her two sons. 鈥淏ut he told me then not to worry and trust Allah and now when I have been blessed with the opportunity to perform Hajj, I can鈥檛 express how much I miss my husband. I wish he was with me.鈥�