APS attack victim fears returning home after treatment in Britain

Ahmed Nawaz's father says he fears if they return ' they' will kill him and his family

BIRMINGHAM: The family of a boy shot in the army-run school massacre in Peshawar last December fear their lives will be in danger if they return home. 

Ahmad Nawaz, who was flown to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham for surgery after being shot in the arm, will have to return home as his family’s visas expire on August 4.

Ahmad’s brother, Haris, was among the 141 children and staff shot dead in the brutal attack by Taliban gunmen at Army Public School on December 16.

Mohammad Nawaz, father of 14-year-old Ahmad, said he wished the family could remain longer in the UK. However, according to the BBC, the family has not yet made a formal application to extend their visas.

Read: Injured APS student undergoes successful operation in UK

Nawaz has said that he received two death threats from the Taliban before the family travelled from Pakistan in February. He added, "If we go back, they are not human beings, I think they will kill me and also kill all my family."

Nobel Peace prize winner Malala Yousafzai visited Ahmad to offer support to him and his family PHOTO: BBC

Further, he said one of the calls he received was from Torkham and the second call threatened to target the ambulance carrying Ahmad from Peshawar to the airport in Islamabad.

Ahmad has been discharged from the hospital but his parents said that he and his brother, Umar, seven, are still traumatised by the incident.

Read: Treatment abroad: Peshawar school attack victim to leave for Birmingham today

Speaking about his trauma, Ahmad said, "Every time I'm sleeping or thinking of something, that same thoughts [of the massacre] are in my mind therefore I'm very stressed and depressed."

His mother Samina Nawaz also talked about the difficult time her son was having and said he "has nightmares of Kalashnikovs and the Taliban chasing him" after he "played dead" as he lay injured while Taliban gunmen attacked his school.

Haris Nawaz (l) died in the Taliban attack, while Umar (r) is too scared to sleep apart from his mother Samina PHOTO: BBC

The attackers had climbed over the walls of the school's compound before conducting a shooting spree, in one of the worst assaults in Pakistan's recent history.

Read: After Peshawar school attack, students receive counter-terrorist training

At the time, a Taliban spokesperson told the BBC that militants had attacked the army-run school in response to military operations in North Waziristan and the Khyber area.

The High Commission for Pakistan in London has said, "The request of the family for extended treatment of Ahmad Nawaz in the UK is under active consideration of the government of Pakistan."

The Pakistani authorities agreed to pay for Ahmad's medical treatment in Birmingham after a high-profile campaign in Pakistan.

The article originally appeared on BBC.