SYDNEY: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hailed as hero Faraz Tahir, a Pakistani security guard killed in Sydney while trying to stop a mass stabbing attack on April 13, in remarks delivered on Friday at a funeral attended by hundreds.

Tahir, who would have turned 31 this week, was on the first day of his job when he became one of six killed during the stabbing spree at a busy mall in beachside Bondi.

“Running toward danger, to protect people he had never even met, without doubt, he helped save lives that day,” Albanese said. “Without question, Faraz Tahir died a hero.”

The ceremony was held before a crowd gathered outside the city’s Baitul Huda mosque, under a banner that read “Love for all — hatred for none”.

Tahir arrived in Australia from Pakistan in early March, according to an association of Pakistanis in Sydney.

Fellow security guard Muhammad Taha, injured while trying to stop the attacker, attended in a wheelchair after being released from hospital for the ceremony.

He was the last to speak with Tahir as they ran towards the scene of the attack.

“We were trying to save people at that time and his last words were `Let’s find out what’s going on,’ so we rushed towards that area,” he said in comments reported by the Guardian newspaper.

Tahir’s brother, Mudasar Bashir, told reporters the two had spoken the evening before and promised to call the next day. They never spoke again.

“Even until now, we couldn’t believe that he’s no more,” he said at the funeral. “We are very proud of him because Islam, our religion, says that if you save even one human, you save all of humanity.”

Joel Cauchi, a 40-year-old who suffered mental health issues, killed five women and Tahir in the mall on April 13 before being shot dead by police.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2024