Mother seeks visa to attend funeral in Christchurch
ABBOTTABAD: Baidaar Aapa, in her 80s, who lost her son and grandson in the Christchurch mosque attack, has expressed her earnest desire to meet the other heirs and attend the last rites of Naeem Rashid and Talha Naeem in New Zealand.
As an air of gloom settled over her residence at Jinnahabad on Saturday, Naeem’s mother appealed to the government to make arrangements for her travel to Christchurch so that she could attend the funeral of her son and grandson there.
A banker by profession, Naeem Rashid, 66, had gone to New Zealand in 2009 where he opted to pursue further studies and did his PhD, while his wife works as a teacher there and his three sons, including 21-year-old Talha, study at different institutes.
Naeem, his son Talha were among six Pakistani victims of terror attacks
On the day of dreadful occurrence, Naeem along with his eldest son, Talha Naeem, who had recently completed his graduation in engineering, went to the mosque for Friday prayer where they fell prey to the terrorist attack.
Naeem Rashid was the first cousin of Aamna Sardar, former Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz lawmaker of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, and a nephew of Dr Saleem Afzal, former medical director of the renowned Ayub Medical Complex.
Talking to the media at their residence, his family members said he was of humble nature and would always actively help the needy. He used to come to Pakistan frequently and actively participate in public welfare works.