Pakistani flag will remain today (Monday) at half-mast at all national buildings to mourn the deaths of Pakistanis who were martyred in the terrorist attacks on mosques in New Zealand. According to a notification issued by Ministry of Interior on Sunday, "The government of Pakistan has decided that national flag of Pakistan shall be flown at half-mast throughout the country on Monday, 18th March, in reverence of the martyrs and the injured, and to express solidarity with their bereaved/grieved families, in the recent gruesome terrorist incident that took place at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand."
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi also said while addressing a news conference here on Sunday that the Pakistani flag will remain at half-mast at all national buildings on Monday to mourn the deaths of Pakistanis who were martyred in the New Zealand mosque attacks.
The minister said that 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 Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on March 22 in Istanbul. He said Turkey being chair of the council floated the idea and Pakistan has seconded it.
He said that during the meeting, efforts will be made to unify the Ummah and devise a strategy to know the root causes of growing 'Islamophobia' in the West and its implications for Muslims around the world. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said he will represent Pakistan in the meeting.
He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has also decided that martyred Mian Naeem Rashid will be given national award on March 23 for his heroic struggle against the white supremacist terrorist during the attack.
He said that he had spoken to New Zealand foreign minister on phone on length, after 50 people, including nine Pakistanis, were shot dead by a 28-year-old right-wing extremist who attacked two mosques in Christchurch; Al Noor Mosque and another mosque in the suburb of Linwood. The minister said, "The assailant attacked the two mosques and the entire act continued for 36 minutes."
He said the identification of dead bodies was a complicated and difficult process but all of them have been identified and the process of handing over the bodies to relatives would start from today (Monday). The New Zealand foreign minister further told that investigation is being held on the motives of the terrorist, he said.
The foreign minister said casualties of Pakistanis stand at nine and one of them is a critically injured person who is undergoing treatment at ICU. He said fifty people were martyred in the tragic incidents.
"The Pakistan High Commission in New Zealand is making all efforts for the affected Pakistani families. The families of six of the martyred want to bury their dead bodies in New Zealand, while three have expressed wish to bury their dead in Pakistan," he said.
The minister said he will leave for China tonight (Sunday) to attend Pak-China Strategic Dialogue and to talk on other issues of bilateral importance. He said that China has time and again proved that it is a sincere friend of Pakistan. He said more consultations will be held with China on future course of events in the region.
Qureshi said that he will write a letter to all parliamentary leaders in order to take them into confidence on further progress on the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP). He said that the parliamentary leaders would be invited for a meeting on March 28 at the Parliament House in Islamabad to seek their opinions and guidance on the way to move forward in the backdrop of post-Pulwama developments. The minister said that he telephoned Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Asif Ali Zardari and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif who have assured their cooperation on all issues of national interest and security.
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