Hyderabad: Thirty-seven-year-old cab driver Rehmat Pasha, who saved nearly 20 lives during the Bondi Beach attack in December last year, has been rewarded with permanent residency in Australia while also being nominated for several bravery awards, the Times of India reported.
In a selfless act, Pasha carried injured people to ambulances while dodging bullets and risking his own safety during the attack in December 2025. While it made him a hero for countless people, Pasha suffered severe mental distress, which left him unable to hold a job for a while.
Pasha was diagnosed with severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and was pushed into long-term therapy. “I still wake up after three to four hours. I hear ambulance sirens in my dreams. I see people running in blood-soaked clothes. I hear children crying,” Pasha told TOI.
The Australian government has stepped up to help Pasha with financial support, medical treatment and counselling. His wife and three children will also be given permanent residency.
Abdul Syed Javeed, an immigration lawyer from Hyderabad and founder of the Indian Youth Committee of Australia, was the one to recommend Pasha’s name to Australia’s Department of Home Affairs.
Pasha is still in touch with the families of the survivors who invite him to prayer meetings, call to check on him and meet whenever they can.
Bondi beach attack
On December 14, 2025, two armed men opened fire at a Hanukkah festival being celebrated at Archer Park near Bondi Beach in Sydney. Fifteen people were killed and another 42 were injured.
The shooting was later described as an anti-Semitic terrorist attack inspired by the Islamic State.
The attackers were identified as Sajid Akram and his son Naveed Akram. Sajid originally hails from Hyderabad and had migrated to Australia 27 years ago. A release from the Telangana Director General of Police (DGP) said factors that led to Sajid’s radicalisation have no connection with India or any local influence in Telangana.
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