ISLAMABAD: The family of Faraz Tahir, a 30-year-old Pakistani security guard killed in a deadly shopping center knife attack in Syndney this month, said he had been “joyous” about making a new life for himself as a refugee in Australia. 
Six people were killed and 12 hurt when 40-year-old Joel Cauchi stabbed citizens at the Westfield Bondi Junction on April 13 in one of the city’s worst violent crimes in recent years. Among the dead were five women and Tahir, a refugee from Pakistan who worked as a security guard at the ball. 
Police have said the man who fatally stabbed the six people seemed to have targeted women, as the attacker’s family has opened up about Cauchi’s long history of mental illness and frustrations with women.
Mass killings are rare in the country of about 27 million people, which has some of the world’s toughest gun and knife laws.
Speaking to the media, Tahir’s brother Mudasar Bashir said the day he was killed was the first time he was working the day shift. 
“We are very proud of him because Islam, our religion, says that if you save even one human, you save all of humanity,” Bashir said. 
“So he saved, I don’t know how many people he saved in that time. I think there are lots of people.”
He said Tahir was happy to have moved to Australia from Pakistan.
“He was very happy, he was joyous,” Bashir said. “So, every time he was saying that ‘I am happy here, it’s a very good place. At least I can pray, I can go to my mosque’.” 
Bashir last spoke to his brother the night before the attack.
“Night [before the attack] we spoke and he said that ‘I have a job, let me sleep, it’s nighttime’,” Tahir’s brother said. “I said, ‘Okay don’t worry, sleep. We’ll talk tomorrow.’ And it was the last time we spoke with him.”
With inputs from Reuters

KARACHI: Pakistani and American officials held an inter-sessional meeting under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) on Thursday, with both sides discussing options to enhance bilateral trade and investment, the US Embassy in Islamabad said in a statement. 

TIFA serves as a platform for Pakistan and the US to improve market access, promote bilateral trade and investment, resolve trade disputes, and work on trade-related issues between the two countries. 

Pakistan and the US took part in high-level trade talks in Feb. 2023 when both countries participated in the 9th Pakistan-United States Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) Council meeting. That meeting took place after seven years. 

As per a statement by Acting US Mission Spokesperson Thomas Montgomery, both sides discussed a “broad range of areas” to enhance bilateral trade and investment on Thursday. 

“The dialogue focused on good regulatory practices, digital trade, the protection of intellectual property, women’s economic empowerment, labor, textiles, investment, and agricultural issues,” Montgomery said. 

He added the discussions also included progress on access for US biotechnology products and beef.

The US official said that the meeting was key for both countries to move forward on shared goals of deepening their economic relationship. 

“The United States has long been Pakistan’s largest export market, with potential for further growth,” he said, adding that the US has been a leading investor in Pakistan for the past 20 years. 

Pakistan’s relationship with Washington has experienced fluctuations over the decades, characterized by periods of close partnership and notable estrangement. 

Despite Islamabad’s recent initiatives to enhance and deepen its ties with Washington, until recently, President Joe Biden’s administration had remained reluctant to engage with Pakistan’s top leadership. 

Ties between the two countries have improved since former prime minister Imran Khan’s government was ousted via a parliamentary vote on Apr. 2022. Khan had accused Washington of colluding with his political rivals to oust him from power via a “foreign conspiracy.” Washington has consistently denied the allegations.