SYDNEY: Australia’s prime minister on Thursday said that he is considering granting citizenship to Muhammad Taha, a Pakistani security guard wounded in the fatal knife attack at a Sydney shopping center.
Taha expressed his belief that he merited recognition and deliberation for citizenship following the stabbing incident. Speaking from his hospital bed to The Australian, Taha recounted being assaulted shortly after his colleague Faraz Tahir, also a Pakistani security guard, was among the six fatalities at the Westfield shopping complex in Bondi Junction.
According to reports, Taha holds a graduate visa that is set to expire in less than a month.
Comparisons were drawn to Damien Guerot, a French national dubbed “bollard man,” who was offered permanent residency after a video circulated on social media showing him using a bollard to fend off the attacker, Joel Cauchi.
In a radio interview, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed that the Australian government would indeed consider Taha’s request for citizenship.
Albanese lamented the tragedy of Faraz Tahir’s death and commended the bravery displayed by Muhammad Taha in confronting the assailant, Joel Cauchi, during the incident on Saturday.
Both Taha and Guerot were hailed for their selfless acts of courage in protecting strangers, with Albanese expressing gratitude for their actions.
Albanese also announced that Guerot would be granted the permanent residency he had been seeking, which was confirmed on Thursday.
