Pakistani student among 22 attending Nobel Peace Prize Forum

MINNEAPOLIS: Pakistan student Anila Bano is among 22 students who are attending the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize Forum at Augsburg College in Minneapolis.

The year's theme, which focuses on “The Paradox of Peace,” revolves around working for peace in conflict areas to avoid future outbreaks,

Nobel Peace Prize winner President Juan Manuel Santos from Colombia and Beatrice Fihn who won the Nobel Peace Prize winner for The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) was leading the session.

Bano, 20 attended the session and spoke to Fihn regarding the future of nuclear weapons in Pakistan. Speaking to media after the session Bano said, “[Fihn] was the highlight of the conference [for me]." “I liked that she focused on a humanistic approach, while taking into consideration the environmental aspects of nuclear weapons. [Fihn] thinks Pakistan’s case is complicated; she cannot say [Pakistan] should give up [nuclear weapons] because of security reasons with the conflict between Pakistan and India,” she added,

Fihn is on a mission to get all of the countries in the world to sign and ratify a treaty eliminating their nuclear weapon arsenal. So far, 60 countries have signed it and 14 have ratified the treaty.