Pakistan prime minister visits kin of exchange student killed in United States

KARACHI: Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi met the family of Sabika Sheikh, a Pakistani national who was killed in Texas school shooting, and offered his condolences.

Later, speaking to reporters, Abbasi said extremism was a global issue, one not limited to a particular country or region.

During his visit to the family's residence, the prime minister met with and consoled the father and other relatives of Sabika, who had gone to Texas as an exchange student on a scholarship programme and was due to return home in June to celebrate Eid with her family in Karachi's Gulshan-e-Iqbal area.

She was one of the 10 students killed in the school shooting that took place in a high school in Texas on May 18.

Abbasi said the international community needed to find out the real reasons for such incidents.

"Sabika was an intelligent student, and the whole nation is sad on her death. I pray to God to give the family courage to bear the loss," said Abbasi.

"Extremism is not an issue limited to a particular country or region. It is a global issue. We have to learn from each other's experiences," he said.

Sheikh's body will arrive in Karachi on Monday night. The girl's paternal uncle Abdul Jalil Sheikh told the media that her funeral prayers will held on Tuesday at a local mosque.

The teenager's tragic death who was shot and killed in the firing incident has left the Pakistani nation in mourning and shock.