–USCENTCOM commander phones COAS to condole Sabika’s death
KARACHI: The flight carrying Sabika Sheikh’s body, the girl who lost her life in Texas’s Santa Fe High School shooting, has been delayed due to bad weather.
The plane will reach Karachi today, according to reports.
The funeral would be held in Hakeem Saeef Ground and the deceased would be laid to rest in Azeempura Graveyard, according to Sheikh’s uncle, Abdul Jaleel Sheikh.
Earlier, funeral prayers for the girl were offered by Houston’s Brand Lane Islamic Center.
Pakistan Council General Aisha Farooqi, members of the United States Congress, Houston’s mayor and members of the Pakistani community in the US attended the funeral prayers.
Sabika Sheikh succumbed to her wounds, according to a leader at a program for foreign exchange students and the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, D.C. Megan Lysaght, manager of the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange & Study Abroad program (YES), sent a letter to students in the program confirming that Sabika was killed in the shooting.
“Please know that the YES program is devastated by this loss and we will remember Sabika and her families in our thoughts and prayers,” Lysaght wrote.
She said the program would be holding a moment of silence for the girl, who is pictured beaming in a shirt that says “Texas” in a photo being shared on social media.
The Pakistan Embassy in Washington, D.C., identified Sabika as a victim of the shooting on Twitter and wrote that “our thoughts and prayers are with Sabika’s family and friends.”
The tweets read, ” Ambassador Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry has expressed heartfelt condolences for the victims of the tragic incident at the Santa Fe High School in Texas this morning. Among the victims was Sabika Sheikh, a Pakistani exchange student. Our Consul General in Houston is in touch with the authorities concerned to ascertain facts.”
Meanwhile, United States Central Command (USCENTCOM) Commander Gen Joseph Votel condoled the unfortunate death of Sabika to COAS Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa over a phone call.
Commander USCENTCOM General Joseph Votel called COAS. Condoled unfortunate death of Pakistani student Sabika Sheikh in Texas School firing. Conveyed his grief to bereaved family on loss of an innocent life.
— Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) May 22, 2018
In a tweet, ISPR DG Major General Asif Ghafoor informed that Gen Votel also conveyed his grief to the bereaved family on the loss of an innocent life.
