Foreign minister condemns attack, expresses grave concern

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen today expressed his grave concern over the attacks at two mosques in Christchurch of New Zealand and said that the Bangladesh Cricket Team would be brought back home immediately.

“We are fortunate that our cricketers are unhurt in the aftermath of the attacks. We will bring them home immediately,” Momen said while talking to reporters at the Sylhet Osmani International Airport this noon.

“We don’t have any mission in New Zealand but we are getting all updates about the attacks through our Australian High Commissioner Sufiur Rahman,” the foreign minister said.

Mentioning that New Zealand is a safe country and is terrorism-free, Momen said it is a tragic incident for the country indeed.

Responding to a query over possibility of such attack in Bangladesh, Momen said, “We are highly active in resisting such evil attempts in our country as our security forces are doing a good job in this regard.”

At least one gunman killed 49 people and wounded more than 20 during the jummah prayers on Friday at two New Zealand mosques in the country’s worst ever mass shooting which Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern condemned as “an act of terrorism”.

Bangladesh Cricket Team players, who are now in Christchurch, survived the attack by narrow margin and all of them are now safe.

They were going to one of the mosques to offer prayers when the incident took place, and later were taken back to their hotel safely.