Christchurch terror attack: Heartbreak for Suhail Shahid's family left to pick up the pieces

Asma Shahid's youngest daughter Nayira keeps asking, "Mama, where's Baba?"

The happy little 2-year-old knows something's up.

Her older sister Wajiha, 5, cries and misses her dad.

Father-of-two Suhail Shahid was one of 42 worshippers shot dead at Al Noor Mosque in central Christchurch on March 15.

Now, his brother Naveed has vowed to move his family from Sydney to Christchurch to help his widowed wife and family, and be closer to his loved one.

"The remains of my brother are in this soil," Naveed said.

Tanveer, left, and Naveed Shahid remember their brother Suhail Shahid, who died in the Al Noor Mosque shooting. Photo / Dean Purcell.

It was raining on the morning of Friday, March 15. Suhail saved wee Wajiha from a wet walk to school and dropped her off.

At 1.10pm, he phoned his wife to say he'd be home for lunch just after Friday prayers.

Entering the mosque, taking his shoes off, he chatted with friends. He revealed plans for an October holiday back to Pakistan. Suhail hadn't been home in three years and he wanted to see his mother.

But at 1.40pm, a heavily-armed terrorist walked into the Deans Ave mosque and gunned him down, along with scores of others.

Asma soon heard there had been a shooting at the masjid. Suhail wasn't answering either his work phone or personal phone.

Al Noor Mosque victim Suhail Shahid with his wife Asma. Photo / Supplied

"I thought maybe Suhail will call me, maybe he's injured, I didn't know where he was. But he never called me," Asma said.

She phoned her older brother-in-law Naveed in Sydney. He started phoning police and St John for information on the wounded or missing.

He saw early media reports of nine people confirmed dead. He kept ringing. Suhail wouldn't answer.

That night, he spoke to one of Suhail's neighbours. He'd been shot in the neck but had been patched up and discharged from hospital. He had no news on Suhail.

Naveed, 40, jumped on a plane. He is a trained chemical engineer like his brother. He'd chosen Sydney for a better life, while another brother Tanveer, 38, had gone to the States, living in Connecticut.

Suhail had moved from Lahore to Auckland in 2017. He'd had a well-paid job at ICI Pakistan Limited (Imperial Chemical Industries), his own house and car and "everything you could dream of growing up in Pakistan", Naveed said.

But he wanted to give his family every opportunity he possibly could.

"He saw New Zealand as a secure, safe environment with better education for his children. This was his basic objective," Naveed said.

Wajiha Shahid, 5, left, and sister Nayira Shahid, 2, keep asking their mother where their dad is. Photo / Supplied

At first, they lived in Auckland where Suhail got a job at Watercare.

They moved to Christchurch last year after he secured a new position at resin manufacturer Hexion in Hornby as production manager.

Life was good.

"He was a brilliant man, very professional," Naveed said.

"Suhail was very loving and caring especially with his two daughters. He was humble and honest - a man of his word."

His work gave him time off every Friday to attend prayers. He'd make the time up by working later.

It took two days to confirm that Suhail had died.

On Saturday, he wasn't on a list of the injured. And on Sunday, an official was reading the names on a preliminary list of the dead. Suhail's name was halfway down page two.

"Then I knew my brother was no longer in this world," Naveed said.

They laid him to rest during the mass burial at Memorial Park Cemetery in Christchurch on Friday.

The Shahids still don't know exactly how Suhail died. They would like to know the exact details, they say.

And now, Naveed worries how Asma and the two wee girls will cope.

If they had to return to Pakistan, his brother's dream of a better life would "vanish", he believes.

So, Naveed has vowed to give up his own good job in Sydney and move his wife and three children to Christchurch to be close to them.

"The remains of my brother are in this soil and we have an emotional attachment to New Zealand now," he said.

"It would be hard for me to give up my job and everything but someone has to sacrifice themselves for this purpose, to save their lives.

"It's not the fault of New Zealand or the people that this has happened – it's a one-off incident and we are the victims of that.

"Everyone has been so supportive, including the Government. They can't bring our loved one back, but they have honoured us and given us respect. They are all mourning with us."