Today marks six years to one of the saddest days in the history of Pakistan when terrorists entered a school in 2014 and killed over 140 people, mostly children. The entire nation mourned the loss for days. Fortunately, a few children survived the attack and became a major source of inspiration. Waleed Khan, one of the survivors of the APS tragedy, is now an elected member of the British Youth Parliament.
Khan was only 12 years old when six gunmen attacked his school in Peshawar. Since that day, Khan’s whole life took a 360-degree turn. He was seriously injured in the attack- being shot eight times in total, and six times in his head and face.
It was so difficult to identify Khan due to 6 bullets in the face, Moreover, the minor student remained unconscious for a long time due to bleeding. The bullets in the face had opened the face and hung the jaw.
While talking about the tragedy, Khan once revealed that after the attack, when he was taken to the hospital, his father kept falling down several times while searching for him. Then a doctor finally told him that there was a child in the corner.
Even then his father did not recognize him. Eight days later, when he regained consciousness, it was still difficult to identify him. Then his mother was called and she called him by the name they called him by at home. To that, he responded and was at last identified.
Subsequently, he spent the next two years in a hospital in both Pakistan and in the UK, recovering from the physical and mental trauma of the attack. So far, the brave survivor has undergone about 12 surgeries, including 6 facial plastic surgeries. He underwent treatments for recovery of his damaged tissue on the face and gum.
Waleed Khan is now a member of the British Youth Parliament
Recently, the APS attack survivor Waleed Khan has brought laurels for the country by winning British Youth Parliament elections in Birmingham. Earlier, in an interview, Khan’s uncle Ejaz Khan informed that 1,23,000 students applied for selection as members. Out of the total applicants, 14 were short-listed for election, and finally, Khan has been elected.
On the sixth anniversary of the APS tragedy, Khan said, “The terrorists shot at us with guns, however, we will respond to them with a pen. Our spirits are higher than before, we are not going to retreat.”
“APS martyrs’ blood will not be wasted. Education was our mission and no one can back down from this mission,” he added.
Khan will represent Pakistan in the Youth Parliament of Birmingham and in return share his experience with his fellow students and countrymen.
In August, another brave survivor of the gruesome terrorist attack, Ahmad Nawaz got into one of the leading universities in the world – the University of Oxford. We could not be more proud of these lionhearted heroes!
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