Nawaz managed to survive the APS attack by “playing dead” but his brother, Haris, was martyred in the incident. Suffering from an injury in his left arm, Nawaz was transferred to a hospital in the UK, from where he began his long battle against terrorism.

When he first arrived in the UK, he was only fourteen, and knew nothing of the English language or culture. However, he managed to pick himself up from there.

He saw youth empowerment and education as the answer to counter the brainwashing of youth to become terrorists and started a fundraising campaign in the UK. With the donations collected, he set up a school near the Syrian border at a time of political turmoil and also set aside provisions for the same end in the north-western regions of Pakistan.

Nawaz led the “Action Counters Terrorism” campaign and was invited to speak to schools and colleges. In 2015, he was invited to speak at the House of Lords and a few years later, he was given the Princess Diana Legacy award for his efforts.

He later enrolled in the University of Oxford and began studying philosophy and theology there.

His accomplishments did not go unrecognized. After his election as the president of the Oxford Union, political leaders and celebrities alike lauded his achievement.

These included the PTI leader Imran Khan, current Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, and President, Dr. Arif Alvi.

Ali Zafar also tweeted about Nawaz’s tremendous achievement.

Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto (1977) and writer and activist Tariq Ali (1965) are the other two Pakistanis to have led the prestigious student body.