Pakistan ‘deeply saddened, shocked’ by mass stabbing at Sydney shopping center 

A police officer reacts outside the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping mall after a stabbing incident in Sydney on April 13, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 14 April 2024
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Pakistan ‘deeply saddened, shocked’ by mass stabbing at Sydney shopping center 

  • Faraz Tahir, 30-year-old security guard from Pakistan, was the only male victim killed in the Bondi junction stabbing incident
  • Five of the six killed were women while eight people, including a nine-month-old baby, were taken to hospital with stab wounds 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office said on Sunday it was “deeply saddened” and “shocked” by the mass stabbing at a Sydney shopping center a day earlier which claimed six lives, including that of a Pakistani security guard. 

An attacker fatally stabbed six people on Saturday afternoon at the busy Westfield Bondi Junction shopping center in Sydney. 

Five of the six victims killed were women, while eight people, including a nine-month-old baby, were taken to hospital with stab wounds, New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb told a press conference. 

The only male victim who was killed in the attack was identified as 30-year-old Faraz Tahir from Pakistan, who worked at the mall as a security guard. 

“We are deeply saddened and shocked over the terrible and tragic events at Westfield Bondi Junction in Sydney, Australia on Saturday,” the foreign office said on social media platform X. 

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who have lost their lives.”

Webb said during a press conference on Saturday that police did not believe the attack was “terrorism-related” Webb while Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said there was no indication yet of the man’s motive.

Australia has some of the world’s toughest gun and knife laws, and attacks such as the one on Saturday are rare. 


Pakistan steps up local vaccine manufacturing push with Saudi cooperation Eleven-member Saudi delegation’ to arrive in Pakistan today to give practical shape to local vaccine manufacturing in Pakistan, says health ministry Domestic vaccine manufacturing

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Pakistan steps up local vaccine manufacturing push with Saudi cooperation Eleven-member Saudi delegation’ to arrive in Pakistan today to give practical shape to local vaccine manufacturing in Pakistan, says health ministry Domestic vaccine manufacturing

  • Talks with Saudi delegation aim to support domestic production for national immunization needs, ministry says
  • Pakistan currently imports all vaccines, which ramps up foreign exchange and procurement pressures

ISLAMABAD: A high-level Saudi delegation is arriving in Pakistan today, Monday, to give practical shape to local vaccine manufacturing in Pakistan, the health ministry said in a statement amid Islamabad’s push to meet its national immunization needs. 

The eleven-member Saudi delegation’s visit marks a “critical milestone” in strengthening bilateral cooperation between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in health, pharmaceutical manufacturing and industrial collaboration, the ministry said. 

It added that the development takes place after Pakistan Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal held three meetings with his Saudi counterpart over the past seven months in which both sides discussed local vaccine manufacturing, investment opportunities and technical cooperation. Kamal also met Saudi Arabia’s minister of industry to discuss the same. Both sides designated focal persons to ensure effective coordination and follow-up after the meetings. 

“The visit of the high-level Saudi delegation is expected to prove a decisive step toward giving practical shape to the process of local vaccine manufacturing in Pakistan,” Kamal was quoted as saying by the health ministry. 

The Pakistani health minister reaffirmed Islamabad’s commitment to establishing local vaccine production facilities, stating that domestic manufacturing will not only meet Pakistan’s national immunization needs but will also enable surplus production for export. 

This, he said, would contribute to Pakistan’s economic growth and national stability.

“Ensuring the availability of safe, high-quality vaccines for the public remains the government’s top priority, ” the minister said. 

Since Pakistan does not produce vaccines locally, it has to import them from other countries. Producing vaccines will help the South Asian country save valuable foreign exchange and avoid longer procurement delays as it seeks to inoculate its population against various diseases. 

Pakistan, a country of over 240 million people, regularly holds national immunization campaigns against diseases such as polio, measles, rubella and hepatitis.