New Zealand PM to reinforce anti-terror laws

New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern has taken her vow to strengthen anti-terror laws. This decision came after Friday’s knife attack in Auckland that a man did even if he was under police surveillance.

“We must be willing to make the changes that we know may not necessarily have changed history but could change the future,” she said.

The man is a Sri Lankan national. He has stabbed seven people at a supermarket. Three of the victims are in critical condition. The attacker is a supporter of an Islamic state. Police shot him to death.

The New Zealand PM described this incident of stabbing as a terrorist attack. She had expectations that changes to the counter-terrorism legislation system of this country would get backup from the parliament by the end of September.

The attacker had been under arrest more than once before the incident on Friday. But Mr. Ardren said that every legal avenue to keep him out of the community had been exhausted. This incident also took place at the Countdown supermarket at LynnMall.

A team of surveillance and specialists followed him from his home to the supermarket. However, there were concerns for him. But he did not give any reason to suspect that he is planning an attack on Friday. The team thought he was going grocery shopping.

As he entered the store, he took out his knife and started stabbing. One shopper said that that man was running like a lunatic to attack people. People started running out hysterically while screaming and yelling. The attacker shouted, “Allahu akbar.”

According to police commissioner Andrew Coster, police rushed after the hearing commotion and shot him dead. This happened within 60 seconds of the attack.

The man arrived in New Zealand in 2011 with a student visa. He became the interest of national security in 2016. Since then, he is facing round-o-clock monitoring and surveillance due to concerns regarding his ideology. He was on a terror watch list.

This 32-year-old attacker was facing the sentence of one-year supervision for working with IS propaganda. Prosecutors also accused him of plotting a terror attack with knives.

His internet search history includes Islamic State heroes, Islamic State dress, and New Zealand prison clothes and food. Critics are questioning why the authority did not take any action on him before.

The family of the attacker is under shock and grievance, according to his lawyer, who represented him regarding his immigration matters.

Credits: BBC