APS massacre survivor becomes Oxford debating society president

ISLAMABAD: Ahmad Nawaz, a survivor of the 2014 Army Public School (APS) massacre, has officially taken charge as the president of the Oxford University’s debating society Oxford Union.

The young scholar was elected to the post earlier this year on March 6. "Immensely proud to have finally assumed my duties as President of Oxford Union," Nawaz tweeted on June 21. He said that he aims to gather world leaders on this platform to debate the most pressing issues, to empower youth and uphold freedom of speech, reported Geo News.

Despite the fact that Nawaz has already achieved a lot at such a young age, he said that there is still "a long way to go." Taking to Twitter, President Arif Alvi congratulated Nawaz, saying that Pakistan's youngsters are its biggest hope. "We must register that despite all setbacks Pakistan will keep on shining and rising," President Alvi said.

Nawaz survived the brutal attack on APS but lost his brother Haris and many friends on that fateful day. However, the 20-year-old never let the attack stop him from pursuing his studies. In 2020, he had secured a place to study at the University of Oxford — the alma mater of many notable Pakistanis, including Malala Yousufzai, Prime Minister Imran Khan, late Benazir Bhutto, and many others. Apart from studying at Oxford, Nawaz is a human rights campaigner.