Tag: APS Peshawar attack

  • APS attack survivor Ahmad Nawaz becomes President of Oxford Union

    APS attack survivor Ahmad Nawaz becomes President of Oxford Union

    Ahmad Nawaz, a survivor of the Army Public School (APS) Peshawar attack, has secured the position of the President of “Oxford Union”, a famous debating society at Oxford University, one of the most prestigious universities in the world. The society was founded in 1823.

    He shared the announcement on his Twitter handle saying, “I am so extremely proud to announce that I have been Elected President of the @OxfordUnion. One of the world’s biggest & historical platforms!.”

    He also thanked his parents, friends, and team who have been supportive throughout his journey.

    He enrolled in Oxford University to study Philosophy and Theology in 2020.

    At the age of 14, he was shot in the arm in the massacre, and his brother, Haris was martyred in the APS attack. After hospitalisation for several days in Peshawar, he was taken to Birmingham for emergency surgery to save his arm.

    He is also a human rights activist to empower youth and ensure access to education for deprived children.

  • ‘We will never let down the survivors and parents of our martyred children’: PM Imran on 7th anniversary of APS attack

    Pakistan marked the seventh anniversary of the Peshawar Army Public School (APS) massacre on Thursday. Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan said that there will be “zero tolerance for violence and those using it as a tool”.

    Taking to Twitter, the premier tweeted, “December 16, 2014, terrorists attacked & martyred over 140 ppl incl 132 children in APS, Peshawar. Pakistan has successfully defeated terrorism.”

    “I reiterate we will never let down the survivors & parents of our martyred children,” wrote PM Khan.

    Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Shehbaz Sharif, tweeted, “Have we learned any lessons & corrected our course? When will we sincerely put our heads together for [a] better future of our children?”

    Chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said the nation still felt the pain of “this great tragedy”, adding that “everyone is still waiting for justice to be served to the innocent souls”.

    Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi tweeted, “Today, 7 years ago, we lost our children and teachers in an inhuman terrorist attack. A black day for humanity. We will never forget. #APSPeshawar.”

    Senator Sherry Rehman tweeted, “It’s a shame that even after all this time, the govt has still asked for more time to submit its report to the SC. The parents are waiting for justice while this govt is talking about giving amnesty to those responsible.”

    PPP leader Hina Rabbani Khar tweeted, “The day when millions of Hearts Broke. A day when 132 dreams were broken. The most dark day in the history of Pak. We will never forget you angels. We also remember the school staff & bravest lady Mrs Tahira Qazi who sacrificed her life to protect the children. #BlackDay.”

    https://twitter.com/Hina_RKhar/status/1471306720626417664

    Author Fatima Bhutto tweeted, “Always in our hearts #APSPeshawar.”

    APS to date remains the deadliest terror attack in Pakistan’s history, 131 school children and 10 other people were martyred when heavily armed militants stormed the school building on December 16, 2014.

  • Pakistani cricketers remember the martyrs of APS attack

    Pakistani cricketers remember the martyrs of APS attack

    Pakistani cricketers have took to their social media and remembered the martyrs of Army Public School (APS), who lost their lives seven years ago in a terrorist attack in Peshawar.

    All-rounder Shadab Khan said: “Nothing more precious than our children who are our future. Can’t explain my sorrow in words for #APSPeshawar. May we never go through something like it again. Praying for peace and justice.”

    Similarly, pacers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Junaid Khan shared their thoughts on Twitter.

    Prime Minister Imran Khan also urged the nation to stay firmly united against elements trying to spread discord and prejudice on sectarian, religious and ethnic lines stressing that the sacrifices of martyrs of Army Public School have not gone in vain.

    The premier said the nation should identify these elements in their ranks and help the state in eradicating them.

    “There is zero tolerance for violence & those using it as a tool,” he said in a tweet.

    More than 140 people, mostly students, were killed by militant gunmen at the APS in Peshawar on December 16, 2014.

    More than 1,000 students, from preschool to high school, were on the campus when the attack began. Militants entered classrooms and auditoriums and opened fire on students and teachers.

  • LPL Final: Shoaib Malik dedicates win to ‘little champs’ of APS

    LPL Final: Shoaib Malik dedicates win to ‘little champs’ of APS

    Veteran Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik has dedicated his win at the Lanka Premier League (LPL) to the “little champs who lost their lives in the Peshawar tragedy”.

    “Another WIN, another TROPHY, another Man Of The Match in the Finals,” wrote Malik on social media. “I dedicate today’s win to the little champs who lost their lives in the Peshawar tragedy.”

    It has been six years since a gruesome terrorist attack on the Army Public School (APS) left 149 people dead which included 132 children, one of the darkest days in Pakistan’s history.

    Meanwhile, Malik’s wife Sania Mirza and his father-in-law Imran Mirza, were over the moon with Shoaib’s performance and took to Twitter to express their joy.

    Malik shone with both the bat and the ball as Jaffna Stallions beat Galle Gladiators to win the LPL 2020 title in its inaugural season and received the Man of the Match award.

    Malik top-scored for Jaffna with 46 off 35 balls to help Jaffna near the 190-run mark after they won the toss and elected to bat first. He also bagged two wickets for 13 runs only in 3 overs to restrict Galle under 140 runs.

    Read more – Shahid Afridi leaves LPL midway due to a ‘personal emergency’

    The inaugural season of the T20 Lanka Premier League 2020 came to a thrilling end on Wednesday night with Stallions lifting the trophy after beating Gladiators by 53 runs in the final in Hambantota.

  • APS attack survivor Ahmad Nawaz is heading to Oxford University

    APS Peshawar attack survivor Ahmad Nawaz has announced that he has secured a place to study at the University of Oxford. Nawaz shared the happy news on social media with a picture of himself wearing an Oxford University jumper.

    He later shared that he will be studying Philosophy and Theology.

    Congratulatory messages poured in for Nawaz from across the world.

    The University of Oxford’s official account also congratulated the high achiever, calling him a “true inspiration”.

    Nawaz was only 14 when the Taliban attacked his school in Peshawar in 2014. He managed to save himself by pretending to be lying dead but he witnessed the horror of the massacre and his teacher get set on fire by terrorist militants. He suffered multiple injuries on his arm and was given special treatment at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Though Ahmad survived, he lost his brother in the deadly attack.

    Meanwhile, late last year, Nawaz had received the 2019 Legacy Award for the Diana Award and had attended a tea hosted by Prince William at Kensington Palace. He had become the first Pakistani to receive the Princess Diana Award for his anti-radicalization campaign.

  • Lt Gen (r) Amjad Shoaib under fire for defending prime accused of APS massacre

    Lt Gen (r) Amjad Shoaib, who is among the 26 former military officers allowed by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) to appear on media as defence analysts, has drawn the ire of hundreds of social media users for defending former Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesperson and prime accused of the 2014 Army Public School (APS) Peshawar massacre, Ehsanullah Ehsan.

    “He [Ehsan] did not directly carry out attacks and was ‘brainwashed’. In fact, it is the attackers on suicide missions who are brainwashed and not the other way round,” he said while speaking to a private media outlet on the escape of the former TTP spokesperson from a military jail.

    Ehsan had last week claimed in an audio message that he was no longer in the state’s custody and had managed to flee to Turkey. A government official, commenting on the development, had stated that Ehsan had surrendered voluntarily to the government on Feb 5, 2017, under an agreement.

    Security sources had told Geo that the state launched many successful anti-terrorism operations based on information provided by Ehsan.

    With the former military officer defending Ehsan on-air, he was trained guns at by Twitterati, who said:

    “Their views/comments/opinions on media shall remain personal/independent expression and not attributable to the institution,” read an ISPR notification that allowed Shoaib among 25 other ex-military personnel to appear on television as defence analysts.

    The notification in April 2019 had come after the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) had instructed all television channels to seek prior clearance from the military’s media wing before inviting retired military officers on news and current affairs programmes “to solicit their views on matters of national security”.