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Agence France-Presse

The bodies of victims in the New Zealand terrorist attack have started arriving in their home countries as the repatriation process for foreign nationals killed in the twin mosque attack began on Monday, officials said.
Masters student Ansi Alibava, 25, was among at least five Indians shot dead by a white supremacist in Christchurch on March 15.
Her body arrived at an airport in Kochi, in the southern Indian state of Kerala, early on Monday where it was received by relatives and government officials.
It was then taken to her nearby hometown of Kodungallur and put on display – her mother Razia and brother Asif Ali weeping over the coffin – before a funeral.
New Zealand to hold national remembrance service for Christchurch massacre victims
“She hails from a poor family and her whole family counted on her. She was a girl who took up the challenge to succeed in life in all adverse circumstances,” said KI Noushad, Alibava’s uncle.
Alibava was praying at the Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch with her husband, Abdul Nazer, at separate sections, when the terrorist opened fire on worshippers.
When gunfire broke out, Nazer managed to flee through an emergency exit but his wife did not make it. He was officially informed of her death 24 hours after the massacre.
The relatives of two other Indian victims opted to have their loved ones buried in New Zealand, a spokesman from the Indian High Commission in Wellington said.

The body of a 26-year-old man from Pakistan on Monday also arrived at an airport in the southern port city of Karachi.
Syed Areeb Ahmed was among nine Pakistanis who were killed in the massacre.
His sobbing father Syed Ayaz Ahmed, family members and government officials received his body.
Ahmed was an only son who had immigrated to New Zealand for work, according to his uncle Muhammad Muzaffar Khan.




Last week, Pakistan observed a day of mourning for the victims and honored another Pakistani, Naeem Rashid, who died along with his son after trying to tackle the gunman.
The bodies of foreigners killed by an Australian white supremacist gunman on March 15 are only now beginning to arrive back home after delays stemming from the police investigation into the slaughter.
The victims, who came from across the Muslim world, were gathered for Friday prayers at two mosques in the South Island city when the killing spree took place.
New Zealand bans military-style weapons after Christchurch attack
Brenton Tarrant, a 28-year-old motivated by the white extremist belief that Muslims were “invading” Western countries, was arrested within minutes of the attack and has been charged with murder. The bodies of the Indian victims are believed to be among the first to be repatriated.
“I’m not sure about the status of bodies from other nationalities but I can say we went through the process as quickly as possible,” a spokesman for the Indian High Commission in Wellington said. “We completed the procedure within a couple of days of the bodies being released.”
Editorial: It should not have taken a tragedy to recognise far-right extremism
The two repatriated Indian victims are Ansi Karippakulam Alibava, 23, a masters student from Kerala, and Ozair Kadir, 24, an aspiring commercial pilot from Hyderabad city.
The remains of Mahboob Khokhar, a 65-year-old retiree who was visiting his son in Christchurch when he was killed, are en route to India and should arrive about 10pm.
The Indians buried in New Zealand are father and son Asif and Ramiz Vora, originally from Gujarat, who had celebrated the birth of Ramiz’s daughter just days before the attack.




New Zealand on Monday said it would hold a top-level inquiry to examine what roles that guns, social media and spy agencies played preceding the massacre.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Monday that a Royal Commission of Inquiry, the country’s highest form of investigation, would be conducted.
“While New Zealanders and Muslim communities around the world are both grieving and showing compassion for one another, they are also quite rightly asking questions on how this terror attack was able to happen here,” Ardern said.
Police visited Christchurch attacker before granting him gun licence
“In short, the inquiry will look at what could have or should have been done to prevent the attack,” Ardern said. “It will inquire into the individual and his activities before the terrorist attack, including, of course, a look at agencies.”
Ardern said the exact terms of the inquiry, including its duration, would be finalised over the next two weeks.
She said those agencies will include the country’s domestic spy agency, the Security Intelligence Service, and its international counterpart, the Government Communications Security Bureau. Other agencies to be looked at include police, customs and immigration.

A royal commission is run independently from the government and is chaired by a high-court judge. It has the power to compel witnesses to testify and organisations to hand over documents. But it remains up to the courts or government to follow through on any recommendations or findings.
New Zealand’s intelligence agencies have come under fire for focussing too much on perceived threats from Muslim extremists and left-wing radicals while not looking deeply enough into possible threats from nationalist groups and white supremacists.




“There will be a focus on whether our intelligence community was concentrating its resources appropriately and whether there were any reports that could, or should, have alerted them to this attack,” Ardern said. “It is important that no stone is left unturned to get to the bottom of how this act of terrorism occurred and what, if any, opportunities we had to stop it.”
New Zealand has previously held royal commissions into the 2010 Pike River coal mine disaster and building failures during the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. It is currently holding an inquiry into historical abuse in state care.


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New Zealand shooting

New Zealand shooting: Journey home begins for Christchurch mosque massacre’s foreign victims

Relatives of an Indian national Ozair Kadir, who was killed in Christchurch mosque shootings, console each other as they arrive at Kadir's family home in Hyderabad, India. Photo: AP

Indian Muslims hold placards and shout slogans during a protest against Friday's mass shootings in New Zealand, in Hyderabad, India, Sunday, March 17, 2019. The live-streamed attack by an immigrant-hating white nationalist killed dozens of people as they gathered for weekly prayers in Christchurch on Friday March 15. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

Muslim men embrace during Friday prayers at Hagley Park in Christchurch, New Zealand, Friday, March 22, 2019. People across New Zealand observed the Muslim call to prayer Friday as the nation reflected on the moment one week ago when 50 people were slaughtered at two mosques. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

As New Zealand grieves over the Christchurch terrorist attack, it must come to terms with how hatred was able to take root

People comfort each other as they pay their respects to the victims of the Christchurch terrorist attack. Photo: Xinhua

WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND - MARCH 17: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern hugs a mosque-goer at the Kilbirnie Mosque on March 17, 2019 in Wellington, New Zealand. 50 people are confirmed dead and 36 are injured still in hospital following shooting attacks on two mosques in Christchurch on Friday, 15 March. The attack is the worst mass shooting in New Zealand's history. (Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

Students hold candles as they gather for a vigil to commemorate victims of Friday's shooting, outside the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, Monday, March 18, 2019. Three days after Friday's attack, New Zealand's deadliest shooting in modern history, relatives were anxiously waiting for word on when they can bury their loved ones. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

This picture taken on March 17, 2019 shows local residents from different faiths paying their respects for the Christchurch mosques victims after placing flowers during an Open Day at Preston mosque in Melbourne. - Australian counter-terrorism police searched two homes early on March 18, 2019, linked to the gunman accused of killing 50 people at two New Zealand mosques last week, police said. (Photo by Con Chronis / AFP)

Mourner pay their respects near the Masjid Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, Monday, March 18, 2019. A steady stream of mourners paid tribute at makeshift memorial to the 50 people slain by a gunman at two mosques in Christchurch, while dozens of Muslims stood by to bury the dead when authorities finally release the victims' bodies. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

It should not have taken a tragedy to recognise far-right extremism

Worshippers prepare to enter the reopened Al Noor mosque following the mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand. Photo: AP/Mark Baker

New Zealand shooting: Police visited terror-accused Brenton Tarrant’s home in Dunedin before granting him gun licence

Women wearing headscarves as tribute to the victims of the mosque attacks are seen before Friday prayers at Hagley Park outside Al-Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand March 22, 2019. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern attends the Friday prayers at Hagley Park outside Al-Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand March 22, 2019. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

A police officer stands guard outside Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, March 22, 2019. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

Al Noor Mosque Imam Gamal Fouda leads a Friday prayer at Hagley Park outside Al-Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand March 22, 2019. REUTERS/Edgar Su

(190322) -- CHRISTCHURCH, March 22, 2019 (Xinhua) -- Police officers patrol near a gun market named "Gun City" at suburb area of Christchurch, New Zealand, March 18, 2019. Military style semi-automatic weapons (MSSA) and assault rifles are to be banned in New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Thursday. New Zealand government has also moved to ban a number of accessories which can take lower capacity semi-automatic fire arms to weapons of greater killing might. (Xinhua/Guo Lei)

People attend the Friday prayers at Hagley Park outside Al-Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand March 22, 2019. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

Armed police officers secure the perimeter before Friday prayers at Hagley Park. Photo: Reuters

The Islamophobia Industry: how US war on terror sowed seeds of Christchurch killings

Muslims pray. Photo: AFP

A woman visits a makeshift memorial in Christchurch, New Zealand, on March 16, 2019, for the victims of shooting rampages at two local mosques the previous day. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Flowers and messages are placed outside Lakemba Mosque in Sydney on March 20, 2018, five days after the mass shooting attacks at two mosques in Christchurch that killed 50 Muslim worshippers in the city. - A Syrian refugee and his son were buried in New Zealand on March 20 in the first funerals of those killed in the twin mosque massacre as Kiwis braced for days of emotional farewells following the mass slayings. (Photo by PETER PARKS / AFP)

Residents and schoolchildren wearing headscarves arrive for the funeral of those killed in New Zealand's twin mosque attacks at Memorial Park cemetery in Christchurch on March 21, 2019. - A teenager who dreamed of playing in goal for Manchester United was among the latest victims of New Zealand's twin mosque massacre to be buried as funerals resumed on March 21. (Photo by Anthony WALLACE / AFP)

epaselect epa07447564 A muslim worshipper prays at a makeshift memorial at the Al Noor Mosque on Deans Rd in Christchurch, New Zealand, 19 March 2019. A gunman killed 50 worshippers and injured 50 more at the Al Noor Masjid and Linwood Masjid on 15 March, 28-year-old Australian man, Brenton Tarrant, has appeared in court on 16 March and charged with murder. EPA-EFE/MICK TSIKAS AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT

Zaid Mustafa (C, in wheelchair), who was wounded by an Australian white supremacist gunman, attends the funeral of his slain father Khalid Mustafa and brother Hamza Mustafa at the Memorial Park cemetery in Christchurch on March 20, 2019. - Hundreds of mourners gathered in a Christchurch cemetery on March 20 for the first funerals of those killed in the twin mosque massacre as New Zealanders braced for days of emotional farewells following the mass slayings. (Photo by Anthony WALLACE / AFP)

New Zealand bans manifesto of accused Christchurch killer, igniting debate about censorship and free speech

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern as she leaves Friday prayers in Christchurch. Photo: AP

FILE - In this March 18, 2019, file photo, a student lights candle during a vigil to commemorate victims of March 15 shooting, outside the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand. New Zealanders are debating the limits of free speech after their chief censor banned a 74-page manifesto written by a man accused of massacring 50 people at two mosques. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)

FILE - In this March 16, 2019, file photo, flowers lay at a memorial near the Masjid Al Noor mosque for victims in March 15 shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand. New Zealanders are debating the limits of free speech after their chief censor banned a 74-page manifesto written by a man accused of massacring 50 people at two mosques. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)

People gather outside Al Noor mosque after it was officially reopened following last week's attack, on Saturday, March 23, 2019. in Christchurch, New Zealand. Fifty people were killed, and dozens were injured in Christchurch on March 15 when a gunman opened fire at the Al Noor and Linwood mosques. The attack is the worst mass shooting in New Zealand's history. **FOR USE WITH THIS STORY ONLY** (Carl Court/Getty Images/TNS)

FILE - In this Thursday, March 21, 2019 file photo, mourners arrive for a burial service of a victim from the March 15 mosque shootings, at the Memorial Park Cemetery in Christchurch, New Zealand. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was hailed around the world for her decisive response to the two mosque shootings by a white nationalist who killed 50 worshippers. For many Muslims, her most consequential move was immediately labeling the attack an act of terrorism. Community leaders and researchers say that for too long, terrorism was considered a "Muslim problem" and that a double standard persists when attacker is white and non-Muslim. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, File)

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Indian High Commission says the bodies of two people killed in attack had arrived in their homeland and a third was expected later on Monday


Indian High Commission says the bodies of two people killed in attack had arrived in their homeland and a third was expected later on Monday.


New Zealand

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