Newly married Pakistani student shot dead while resisting robbers in Australia

Kamran Yousaf, an accounting student, was shot during a robbery in a fruit shop in Western Sydney on October 12.

ISLAMABAD: A statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday expressed "deep sorrow" over the death of a 28 year-old Pakistani studying in Australia, who was shot dead during a robbery in Western Sydney on October 12.

The statement read:

"Kamran Yousaf s/o Muhammad Yousaf, hailing from Jalalpur Jattan (Gujrat) was shot dead in Western Sydney on Saturday 12 October 2013 during a robbery at the fruit shop the deceased was working [in].

"This news has been received with deep sorrow and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses its sympathies with the bereaved family on the irreparable loss."

The statement further claimed the Pakistani government has ensured that the body is safely transported back to Pakistan in time.

A newly married accounting student

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Yousaf had only recently married, and had left his home in Pakistan and arrived in Sydney in December last year to study for a Masters in Professional Accounting at the King's Own Institute in central Sydney.

"Yousaf had taken a job at the Villawood Value Fruit Market to make ends meet, and he was working on Saturday afternoon when two men - one armed with a gun, and the other with a hammer - stormed into the store just after 3:30 pm."

The paper went on to state that "Yousaf is believed to have struggled with one of the offenders before the second offender shot him twice – once in the head, and once in the stomach," after which he died on the spot.

The Daily Telegraph reported:

"It's alleged Kamran Yousaf, 28, was shot in the head as he tried to stop Murdoch's alleged accomplice Linh Dang, 27, from Sadleir, from fleeing with a cash register."

Shahid Iqbal, the president of the Pakistan Association of Australia condemned the incident and said it sent "a very bad message to the Pakistani parents who are thinking to send their children to Australia for studies."

Yousaf's friends on Facebook said that Yousaf was due to return to Pakistan on October 28.

Two arrested

Linh Dang and Lance Murdoch have been arrested and charged with murder and armed robbery.

The Pakistan Foreign Office said that the government was in contact with local authorities in Sydney over the swift delivery of justice and appreciated the Australian government for ensuring that the culprits were promptly arrested.