ISLAMABAD (AP) — The bodies of four Pakistanis killed in an attack on a Shiite mosque in Oman this week have been repatriated and handed to their families, officials said Friday.
Relatives of the victims were present when the Pakistan International Airlines flights landed at the Islamabad and Lahore airports. Airline spokesperson Abdullah Hafeez said the bodies were repatriated at orders from the government and handed to the victims’ relatives for burial.
Later, hundreds of mourners attended the funerals of the victims in their home cities.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Shari condemned the attack in a meeting with Oman’s ambassador in Islamabad.
On Monday, gunmen stormed a mosque in Oman’s capital, Muscat, that was packed with worshippers holding special prayers on the eve of the Shiite mourning festival of Ashoura. The festival marks the 7th-century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Hussein, at Karbala in modern-day Iraq.
The Islamic State group claimed Monday’s attack, which was the first instance of the Sunni Muslim extremist group asserting responsibility for such an action in Oman. Omani police have said the three assailants were killed in a subsequent gunfight and were Omani citizens, all brothers.
Many of those inside the mosque were Pakistanis, who make up a large number of the nearly 2 million migrants who help power Oman’s economy working in construction and other fields. Pakistan’s ambassador in Oman, Imran Ali, said his country was not the target and some of the Pakistanis died while trying to save other worshippers.
Sharif, during a meeting with Oman’s ambassador Fahad Sulaiman, appreciated the envoy’s role in the repatriation of the bodies of four Pakistanis killed in Muscat, a statement from his office said Friday, adding that Sharif “offered Pakistan’s support to Oman in dealing with the menace of terrorism, which must be eliminated in all its forms.”
Also Friday, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry condemned the attack, saying, “Such acts of terrorism and violence against peaceful civilians cannot be condoned on any grounds whatsoever.”
The attack demonstrated the persistent threat posed by terrorist organizations and was a reminder of the importance of working together to fight them, ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said at a news conference in Islamabad Friday. She said Pakistan offered its assistance to Oman in the investigation.
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