Farhaj Ahsan from Hyderabad among 'missing' Indians in New Zealand attack; MEA hasn't even contacted us, says family

Hyderabad: The family of Farhaj Ahsan, an Indian national from Hyderabad who is reported missing after the New Zealand terrorist attack, is left distressed and confused as they scramble for an urgent visa and some update on Ahsan’s whereabouts. An MS graduate from the University of Auckland at New Zealand, Ahsan was reportedly present at one of the two mosques where 49 people were killed in a shooting attack on Friday. The 31-year-old engineer was living in New Zealand’s Christchurch with his wife, three-year-old daughter and a 6-month-old son. Apart from him, nine other Indians are presumed missing after the suspected shooter, a self-proclaimed  white supremacist , opened fire in at least two mosques in Christchurch. [caption id=“attachment_6271731” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Farhaj Ahsan, a person of Indian origin, was also reported to have gone in New Zealand mosque shooting. Twitter @asadowaisi[/caption] Farhaj hails from Tolichowki in Hyderabad. He migrated to New Zealand after completing his BTech in India 4 years ago. He has been looking for employment after completing his MS from New Zealand. However, he did not have any stable employment and was surviving on temporary jobs that he came across. Farhaj’s father and other family members are devastated by the news and they refused to interact with the media, even as journalists thronged outside their Hyderabad residence. The family requested the media to leave the premises, telling them that Mohammed Sayeeduddin, Farhaj’s father, is not in a situation to talk to anyone. But Farhaj’s brother told the reporters that they are in the process of applying for a visa to New Zealand. They are yet to be contacted by Sushma Swaraj or anybody from Ministry of External Affairs. They are only in touch with Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi. The family says they have not received any update about Farhaj’s whereabouts from any sources; the only bit of information they have is that he is declared missing. His brother told the reporters that the family has been informed that New Zealand will release a list of injured people by Sunday. The family hopes that this list might give them some clue as to what happened to Farhaj. Meanwhile, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leader confirmed that Farhaj was one of the missing Indians in a tweet on Friday evening, “Farhaj Ahsan, a person of Indian origin, was also reported to have gone to the same mosque and is currently missing. His family is in Hyderabad. I request immediate assistance for his family as well. His family’s contact details are available with me and I’ll share the same with you” along with a photo of Farhaj. Owaisi confirmed that another Indian national from Hyderabad, Ahmed Jehangir was also shot at and is in a critical condition. He requested assistance for the family and a visa for Jehangir’s brother Khursheed, tagging Minister of External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj in the tweet. At 9.40 PM on Friday, Owaisi tweeted: “UPDATE: I’d like to thank @SushmaSwaraj for personally updating me about MEA’s efforts in assisting Ahmed’s & Ahsan’s families reach NZ in time. We are in touch with @MEAIndiaMEA & they have assured us that they’re making all efforts to get the visa process expedited.”