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A PAKISTANI SCHOOLBOY who sacrificed his own life to save hundreds of his classmates by tackling a suicide bomber will have his school and a stadium named after him, officials announced today.
Aitzaz Hassan, a 15-year-old from the mainly Shiite Ibrahimzai village in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province become a national hero after intercepting the bomber before he was able to enter a school last week.
The teen died in hospital after the bomber blew himself up some 150 metres from the main gate of the school of 1,000 students. Nobody else was wounded or killed in the incident.
Amjad Afridi, a senior adviser to the provincial government, told AFP: “We have decided to name Aitzaz Hassan’s school after him. We will also construct a sports stadium in Hangu and will name it after Hassan.”
Afridi, who along with another senior official went to pay their personal respects to the family of Hassan, added the provincial government would also donate five million rupees (US$47,000) to the bereaved parents.
The award comes after the office of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif last week said it would seek “to approve the conferment of a top national bravery award Sitara-e-Shujjat (star of bravery)” on the teen.
Hassan’s act of bravery, which prevented the bomber from striking the morning school assembly, has received an outpouring of tributes from across Pakistan.
Newspapers, TV channels and blogs have demanded that he be commemorated.
Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, who survived being shot in the head by the Taliban for championing girls’ right to education, also paid tribute to the teenager last week, describing him as “brave and courageous”.
He deserves all the honours he gets. Great kid.
The term hero falls short…..
Shame on all those cowards responsible for planning and coordinating the attack.
When people go on about overpaid sports stars being hero’s it makes me sick.
This kid however is the very definition of the word hero.
May he rest in peace for his courage.
This kid is the definition of hero showing such bravery and protecting other lifes and people like him will be miss to the world but I think it’s wrong to say that calling a sports star a ”hero” as sick . Sport stars visiting terminally ill and very sick children in hospitals across the world, you’d be amused at the effect that has ….Obviously not to the same extent but I’d call them a hero
Does his age matter?
It’s a sad world where kids have to fight politicians decisions and incompetencies.
Of course it matters – it highlights his bravery further. You can imagine adults doing it, but a kid brave enough to sacrifice himself like this is almost unimaginable
Who would red thumb Michael’s cpmment?!!
Some sad plonker. ….
Was he 17 or 15
The pic says 17 and the story says 15 so shove the red thumbs up your noses
We can read, Sean. It’s really just not that big an issue in the bigger picture.
Oh right dont even give him the respect of getting the story right. ..lazy
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