Sabika’s funeral to be held in Karachi on Wednesday: sources

The body is expected to arrive early Wednesday

The body of Sabika Sheikh, the Pakistani exchange student killed in a Texas high-school shooting, is expected to arrive early Wednesday, sources revealed on Tuesday.

According to Sheikh's family sources, her funeral will be held tomorrow morning at 9 am at the Hakim Saeed Ground in the Gulshan-e-Iqbal locality of the metropolis. Sources close to the family revealed that important political personalities are expected to attend the funeral.



Sheikh will be laid to rest in the Azeem Pura graveyard. The exchange student's host family in the United States also paid tribute to her and praised her parents for raising her well.

A huge portion of the Pakistani community in Texas attended Sheikh's funeral prayer in the US and sent her off with tears. The Houston Muslim community gathered to offer prayers Sunday at the funeral service for Sheikh.

About 1,000 people, many with Pakistani roots and wearing traditional Muslim dress, converged on an Islamic centre in Stafford to honour the student, whose body was brought by hearse to the sombre service from Santa Fe, the nearby small rural town where a student murdered 10 people including eight students.

Among the mourners was the late teen’s first cousin who lives in the United States. She said Sheikh’s relatives are completely devastated.

“The family back home, we are in touch with them. They’re crying every moment. Her mother is in denial right now,” Shaheera al Basid, a graduate student in the US capital Washington, told AFP at the funeral service.



“It’s a shock we need our entire life to recover from,” the 26-year-old added.

Sheikh had been due to return home in mere weeks, in time for Eidul Fitr.