Meet Rahmat Pasha from Hyderabad who turned hero for victims during Bondi Beach Attack
Hyderabad/Sydney: Mohammed Rahmat Pasha, a 37-year-old man from Hyderabad, emerged as an unlikely first responder during the recent shooting at Bondi Beach in Australia, helping injured victims even as the attacker continued firing.
Pasha, who hails from Vikarabad district in Telangana and previously lived in Masab Tank, Hyderabad, was walking along the beachfront a little after 7 pm when he heard sounds he initially mistook for firecrackers. Moments later, panic erupted as people began screaming and collapsing to the ground, making it clear that a shooting was underway.
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Recalling the incident in an interview to Vartha Bharati, Pasha said he saw the gunman advancing and firing. Despite fearing for his own life, he stopped to help an elderly woman who had been shot in the legs and was crying out for assistance. He sat beside her, comforted her, held her hand and reassured her until emergency services arrived.
“The shooter was not very far from me and I could see him clearly,” Pasha said. “I was scared, but I could not walk away when I saw someone badly injured and asking for help.”
Pasha assisted police and healthcare workers by helping move injured people onto stretchers and into ambulances. He said the scenes were chaotic and deeply disturbing, with people running in all directions to escape the gunfire. One of the victims, he recalled, succumbed to injuries while being assisted.
The father of three, who moved to Australia in 2019 to train as a chef, said the psychological impact of the incident has been severe. He has not returned to work since the attack and is struggling with sleep, managing only a few hours each night.
Screengrab from a video from during the attack wherein Pasha can be seen helping authorities
Speaking about the communal abuse and anti-immigrant rhetoric that surfaced online after the incident, Pasha rejected attempts to link the attack to religion. He said his faith teaches that saving one innocent life is equal to saving all of humanity and stressed that terrorism has no religion.
Pasha said he has received support and messages of solidarity from people around him in Australia, while his family in Hyderabad hopes he will return home soon.
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Call to uphold Sunni Jamaat traditions at Samastha centenary message conference in Mangaluru
Mangaluru: Samastha president Syed Muhammad Jifri Muthukoya Thangal on Sunday called upon Muslims to follow the ideals of the Sunni Jamaat, respect religious scholars and the Sadath, and continue the Islamic tradition.
He was delivering the message address at the concluding mega conference of the Samastha Central Jam’iyyathul Ulama centenary message yatra, held at the Adyar Kannur ground in the city.
Emphasising the need to strengthen the Samastha organisation built through years of effort, Jifri Muthukoya Thangal said every worker should actively contribute to taking the organisation’s message to all sections of society.
Inaugurating the programme, Karnataka Assembly Speaker U.T. Khader said guidance from the ulema is essential for building a harmonious society. He urged people to follow the ideals and guidance of religious scholars and to heed the advice of khateebs and imams of their respective jamaats. He also stressed the need to work collectively to ensure peace and communal harmony and to firmly oppose divisive forces.
The conference was presided over by reception committee district general convener and Samastha Mushawara member Abdul Khader Qasimi Bambaran. Several religious leaders, scholars, social activists and public representatives addressed the gathering.
The centenary message yatra, led by Syed Muhammad Jifri Muthukoya Thangal, began from Nagercoil in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu and passed through several major centres in Kerala and Karnataka before concluding at Adyar Kannur in Mangaluru on Sunday.
Prior to the main event, a meeting of madrasa teachers was held, and a documentary showcasing the services and achievements of Samastha was screened. Cultural and devotional programmes were also part of the day-long proceedings.
