Test Match Special - #40from40: Waleed Khan

Episode Date: April 16, 2020

16-year-old Waleed Khan joins TMS at Headingley in 2018 to tell a remarkable story of courage, survival and hope.

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Hello, welcome to another classic view from the boundary, our series recalling some of the best guests who've been lucky enough to welcome to the TMS Commentary Box. In 2018, during the test series between England and Pakistan, we invited a young man to join us at Headingley, whose interview moved us all perhaps more than any other before it or since. Waili Khan introduced himself as a quick right-arm bowler, an aggressive left-handed batsman who played at the Forward Drive Cricket Academy in Birmingham. Nothing too unusual there.

Well, four years before this interview, Waleed, aged just 12 at the time, was a student at the Peshawar Army School in Pakistan when he survived a terrorist attack that killed 135 of his school friends and 20 of his teachers. Waleed was shot eight times, six times, in the face and head. He was frequently left for dead, but somehow survived. Years of reconstructive surgery followed first in Pakistan

and then in Birmingham in a story that hauntingly echoed the experience of another of our view from the boundary guests the Nobel laureate Malala Yousaf Say. This is perhaps most extraordinary story we've covered on Test Match Special and it goes without saying that this interview contains some very graphic descriptions of injury. So here's Walid Khan. First of all, I would like to thank you for inviting me here

and giving me such a great opportunity and I'd just like to say thank you so much you haven't got to thank us for that while I'm my word where do we start I did not expect when when you read the story of someone who's actually been shot in the face six times I didn't expect what you would look like actually look terrific actually and you've obviously been through absolute hell since then

of surgery and everything else yeah in this time when I was shot with bullets. So my facial, like my face was badly damaged and my maxilla, like my maxilla and the bones upside in my nose and everything on my face was badly damaged. But the doctors here and the doctors back in Pakistan have quite done a good job, like they have done a great job. They are reconstructing my face and still I'm having surgeries, upcoming surgeries, but looking forward to it but just

it was just like I'm speechless when I want to talk about that experience but such experiences like when you go through such bad experiences like the worst experience of your life

you can learn a lot of things from it as well like I have learned a lot from that experience as well after losing my friends my teachers and after getting shot eight times on my face. It was a bad experience, but it taught me a lot. What's it talked to you then? It taught me to be determined in life, never to give up, and never to give up on your passion.

And it taught me the real value of peace. It taught us the real value of what peace is like. And it also teaches me like, when you feel the pain, like when you go through such pain, you can feel the pain of understand. Like, when I see around in the world, I see children suffering, and I see people suffering from terrorism and different activities like these. But when you go through a pain, then you can feel their pain. You can feel it when you have been through it already.

So now, before this incident, I wanted to live for myself, but now I want to live for others. I want to help those children. I want to help those people. I don't want any other child to suffer like me. I don't want them to suffer like me. I want every child to get the basic right, to get their basic rights, and to live a peaceful life,

to live a happy life, to get every opportunity that they deserve. You talk about the pain. I couldn't even begin to imagine what it must be like to be shot six times in the face pain. I mean, can you even describe what that pain is like? I mean, that was the most unbearable pain you can ever have. Like, at that time, I was a child. I didn't know, like, when I was shot, when the terrorists shot me, at that time, I didn't knew that what was happening, why they were shooting me, like, why they shot my friends,

what have we done to them? But when they shot me on the face, and they shot me one after another, like, they still thought that I'm still alive, they were shot me again and again. So it was really, really painful, because with one bullet, my teeth were broken. When they shot me the other one, my jaws and my maxilla was broken. bones in my nose were broken and like it was really really painful

but the most unbearable pain at that time was like more unbearable pain than this was that my friends were dying in front of my eyes I lost many of my friends and they were they were just laying down there in front of my eyes and they were just like I was thinking at that time like I was thinking about them and I was crying tears were coming out of my eyes when I was lying down there

and I couldn't help them. I was helpless myself. And they were dying in front of my eyes and all the memories I had with them, with my family were going somewhere in the sky. I didn't expect myself to survive. Like, when they shot me for the first time, I thought I won't survive now.

I'm going to die. Everything has ended. I couldn't believe my eyes what just happened. Like, in a moment of time, everything changed. Like before, when the terrorist attacked, I was true. A few minutes before, we were like, we were normal. We were all joking around.

We were all laughing. In a sort of a theater, were you? Like a big auditorium? Was that right? Yeah, we were having a first aid lecture. And I still remember that moment, like a few minutes before, one of my friends, he also got killed in that attack. He was a very naughty person.

So when the major was giving us a first aid lecture, so you know in first aid lecture, you have ABC. different ABC so what he said to us like the ABC of West 8 is different than a normal ABC so when he asked us the question again that what this A stands for so he shouted that it stands for Apple and everyone started everyone started laughing in the auditorium so that was quite a cheeky moment and after a few moments all those laughters all those smiles changing to tears and calls for help you I don't know what you know it was it's an army school isn't it that so Pasha being up in the north and there being terrorist issues around, being only 12,

I mean, were you aware of the dangers and the things that were happening around that part of the world at the time? Yeah, it was like that area was quite a big target of terrorists in those days, Peshaw especially. But, you know, though it was a military school, so no one was expecting them to go there and to show such brutality. even after at that time when they attacked over school no one was expecting such brutality even the military wasn't expecting that because they thought like everyone was thinking that they would make the student hostages

no one was expecting them to kill them but they didn't know like when they came in suddenly they started shooting everyone and they didn't like they didn't do anything they just started shooting everyone whoever comes in their way they just shot them can you still see them can you still see them in your mind

I still, like, I still remember one of those moments when they used to shout on us, like, when they enter the auditorium, so they enter with the big shouting voices, and we couldn't understand them what language they were speaking in, but they were shouting to each other, and they were shooting the children, but our auditorium was quite big. It was, though it was a big auditorium, so when they entered, they entered from the back door, and auditorium is, like, on a steep, The chairs are on the steep slope, so it's not flat. So when they entered the auditorium, at that time, I was the head boy of my school. I was the proctor of my school, so I was standing. And I could see them because I was the first one they shot. I was the first one they shot because I was standing in front of them. So when they suddenly, we didn't expect anything like that. It was a military school.

Like before they entered the auditorium, there was like sounds, there was some sounds like, was some sounds like that. So we thought that it might be an army drill because it was an army school or it might be firecrackers because a few months before our seniors did a prank with us. They just threw some firecrackers in the auditorium.

So we were expecting those kind of things, but no one expected that they will be terrorists. And when, before they entered the auditorium, our teachers were talking to each other because they already knew that something was wrong. They already knew that something was gone. going wrong, but they were calming down all the children's there, that nothing is wrong, don't worry, everything will be all right. But after a few moments, a few men, like I could say

a few men just appeared at the big back door, and when they realized that the back door was locked, they started to break it. They kicked it once, and when they kicked it for the second time, they broke the door and they came inside, and they just shouted and started shooting on us. What happened to you? I mean, you know, people are the people. as I thought you were dead, presumably. Yeah, I was like when they first entered the auditorium. So at that time, I was shocked because you were shocked. I can't believe my eyes.

I couldn't believe my eyes. What was just happening? Who are their people? Many of the things were going in my mind. I was thinking, like, who are they people? Why are they here? What are they here for? What do they want from us?

Like, what have we done to them? Why they're shooting us? So when one of them shot me on my face, At that time, I fall down, and I thought, like, everything has ended now. I couldn't believe my eyes. I was crying, and I was in a lot of pain. I was, blood was coming out of my face, a lot of blood. Once I tried to, like, put my hand on my face.

But when I put my hand on my face, my hand went in my face. Then I had to keep it out. And when one of the terrorists realized that I'm still alive, they came closer to me, and he shot me again on face. He shot me six times on face on my limb and my hand. So after that, when they shot all other students in the auditorium, they shot them, they were shooting everyone on head. They were targeting heads.

So they were checking every student in the auditorium that whether they're still alive or not. So one of them came to me, and he was checking me, so he kicked me on my chest to check whether I'm still doing moments or not. But at that time, my situation was very critical, So he thought that I might be that. So they just left and they went towards the college wing to target other students in the college wing. So at that time, at first I was just lying down on the floor

and I was just waiting for my eyes to get closed. But as I was still breathing, so then suddenly I thought that I will not give up so easily. I will try my best till my last breath. Like I'm still breathing. I will try my best to survive. Now I will survive for my friend. for my family, and I will give it my best, no matter what.

So at first, when the students were running out of the auditorium, the students who survived in the auditorium, they were running towards the school wing, the terrorist merit to the college wing. They were running towards the school wing. So at first I was requesting everyone to help me. I was calling for help, and I was begging for help. But at that time, everyone was in a traumatic situation,

and they were also children, so no one, no one did listen. to me they were running here and there and there was a lot of hustle and bustle so it was a traumatic situation for everyone what just happened like everyone everything just changed in a moment of time so when I was when no one was there to help me so I tried to get up myself so I tried to get support from tears and I tried to crawl down but whenever I used to stand up I used to fall down again and again and I used to stand up again but I used to fall down again and it was quite hard for me because I was going through a lot of pain. It was too painful for me because my fear, I was in so much pain

that I couldn't even feel the pain of my leg or my hand. My face was in that much pain. And at that time, I didn't know that I had a bullet in my leg and my hand because my only focus was on my face that I was shot on my face. So when I tried to get up, so I used to crawl down, then I crawled down from the auditorium. Somehow, I managed to get out of the auditorium. And when I was going on my way, when you get out of the auditorium,

there comes some stairways towards the school wing. So at that time, as I said, I didn't know that I was shot on my leg as well. So when I put my right leg on those stairs, I fall down from them. And again, I fall down. And I was just lying there for a moment. And then there were some pillars. I took support from them. And then I tried to stand up.

I saw some students, it was in front of the library. So I saw some students running in front of me. A few students were running in front of me. So I tried to get some support from one of them. So I tried to put my hand on one of them's shoulders. But at that time, as I said, like they were in traumatic situation and they didn't knew that what was going on. So one of them pushed me back.

He pushed me my hand. And although I was already, already I had a lot of blood loss, so I was feeling too much weak. So he just needed to pull away my hand. So he just pulled away my hand from his shoulder and I fall down again. And all the students who were running behind me were now running over me. And because of that, my wrist got broken. My wrist was broken and my hands were badly injured.

But then for some time I was lying there in front of the library. And at that time, I thought, like, now I have no chance to survive. Like, after all this, how can I survive now? but I still remember that moment when I was lying in front of the library and I could see the trees in my school and the birds were flying the birds were flying here and there

because of the bullets and the sounds so at that time I was I just wished to God I just asked God like I wish I was a bird like them and I could fly away from here and I've never heard a story like it and after that

I went to like again I tried to stand up again and I still took support from the pillars and somehow I managed to like a seventh class and E.S.7 was closer to that area so I somehow managed to reach there and I laid and at that time when I reached the EASI class at that time I had so much blood loss that I couldn't walk even I couldn't walk anymore because I was feeling so much dizzy and my eyes were getting close so I just lay down in front of the door and just waited there. But the thing was, at that time, one thing was in my mind,

that I don't know where that that came from, but one thing was that I have to survive somehow and I have to keep myself conscious. So what I was doing, when I realized that my leg was also hit with bullets, so all the time, when I was sitting there, so my eyes were getting closed because I was feeling too much dizzy. And so I thought that if now my eyes gets close, so I won't survive now because all the people will think,

if they see me in this situation, they will think that I'm dead. So when the rescuer will come, they won't take me first. So at that time, what I was trying to do, I was trying to hit my injured legs to feel some more pain, to get myself conscious.

So I was doing that. I was hitting my injured leg to feel more pain and to be conscious at least for them to come in. So after 10 to 15 minutes, the military came in and they rescued all the children in the school wing

and they took me to the combined military hospital in Peshawar and when they took me to the hospital at that time the doctors thought that I am dead so all the hospital faculty thought that I'm dead so they laid down my body with the other dead bodies they laid down my body with other dead bodies

because as I said my face was totally open and I was fully covered with blood and stuff so no one could imagine me to survive in that situation so they thought that I'm dead and I was in doing moment because all my strength was finished because I had a lot of blood loss so I couldn't even move my fingers

by that time on my hands I was trying to move my hands on my fingers to tell them that I'm still alive but I couldn't because I had no power left so what I tried to do I tried to take long breaths so I was taking long breaths and with long breaths when I had blood full covered

The blood covered my face fully, so bubbles were coming out of my mouth. Blood bubbles were coming out of my mouth. So fortunately, one of the nurses saw me, and she called the doctors that, look, he's still, I can see the bubbles, and he's still alive. He's still doing some moment. Then they took me to the Operation Theater, and I was unconscious there for eight days. I was in coma for eight days. and my family and everyone was no one was expecting me to survive actually

because the doctors had already given my family a 48-hour ultimatum on the 6th day because the doctors had already told my family that you should not expect him to survive because anything can happen anytime he has been to like I was in such critical situation that you can't say anything

like right now you can't see anything at the moment He can survive, but his survival chances is 0.5% in 100% like it was. And when, on the 6th day, when they gave my family and 48 hours ultimatum that if he didn't open his eyes on the 8th day, it means he's no more, we can't do anything else. So when I opened my eyes on the 8th day, it was like a surprise for everyone. It was a miracle for my doctors, my family. and at first when I opened my eyes so I was in a traumatic situation so I was thinking that I'm still with the terrorists

so I tried to take away all the pipes and stuff from my body and I tried to run away but the doctors then tied me up with some bandages so that I can't I don't injure myself or still and then they call my mother so I can see my family and my mother so I can relax the first time when I saw my mother so I cried so much and I cried so much

and I cried a lot. At that time, I couldn't talk, but I was crying a lot because in that situation, I didn't thought that I will see her again. I was, that was the most emotional moment in my life that I won't see her again, I won't see my family again. So I cried a lot, and she was trying to calm me down, and she was also crying, but she was not showing that to me. But she was trying to calm me down,

and at first she told me that you had a bike accident. She was trying to divert my... Yeah, she was trying to divert my attention from all that. But then I said, no, I remember. I was saying it by sign language because I couldn't speak. So I was doing movements with my hand. I was saying, like, no, I was shot with guns like that by her service. And then she said, like, don't think about that and just relax.

Well, it's an extraordinary story. I don't know. I mean, if you have, to be able to talk about it, as you have done, extraordinarily really graphically I mean how have you been able to get is I mean four years

doesn't seem very long really to get to the stage where you can sit here and talk to me about it clearly it's very emotional I can see it's very emotional for you

but how have you must have had an awful of help along the way I suspect to get to this situation it was quite difficult for me to get over these

and it still is I can't forget those moments but as I said like the way people supported me, my family supported me and people like Faru Kazi uncle, they supported me

and many other people like they supported me all the way through this journey and they gave me the way they loved me, they support me in this journey, it was just unbelievable and that helped me a lot in going through, going over

through these situations like to come through this. So it was quite difficult because In the starting days, once I was crying, I remember that day when I was in ICU and I was crying for my friends and I was crying and my mom was sitting with me and she told me at that time that if you cry, will your friends come back by that? I said no. So she said that it's better not to cry now and you should do something for them because you have survived now miraculously. So now it's your duty. God has saved your life for a purpose now. And the purpose is the purpose.

of your life should be alive with the purpose now and you should do something for your friends to keep them alive forever in the hearts of people. That's your mother. What a remarkable woman too. Wow. She is a great mentor to me, a great support to me. It was quite difficult

but as I said, like people like my mother and my father and the family friends, friends like Kaziankal and all other friends, like the whole nation and the whole world, it was unbelievable. Like in the start, I used to think like there's no humanity left on this earth. After this incident, I used to think, but when I see people around the world and the way they show me respect, they show me love and they show us, like, support, it was unbelievable. And it was like, I still, now I believe that there is,

humanity, there is humanity, and people can feel the pain. People can feel your pain the way they supported us. They supported us like their own children. I mean, every country, every country in the world supported us like their own children and they showed support to us. You have every right to be a very angry young man, full of rage at what's happened and what you saw. You know, the thing was at first it was in my mind that in the starting days I was thinking that I will take revenge

of my friends and my revenge and I will join military or Air Force and I will take my revenge but then I thought that what will happen if I will take revenge what will happen like I will kill their children and then tomorrow their children will grow up and they will kill my children

and then my children will grow up and they will kill their children and this war will be going on for generations so it's better to finish this war with the perfect solution and I think the best solution for this is to give them education educate their mind they are not educated they are being manipulated by wrong people those children who are doing this they don't know about

they don't know anything they haven't seen the world around them they are just they just believe what they have been showed all the way all their lives like brainwashed really yeah they are being brainwashed by them so the only solution for them is like the only solution to this is to educate their minds, educate them, educate their children. Because with guns and with bullets, we can only kill terrorists, but with education, I believe we can kill terrorism. And that, again, clearly motivates you very much. I can see you in your face. That is something

you feel very, very strongly about. Do you think it's possible? Is that solution possible? It is possible. Like, everything is possible in the world. Like, if you give, like, if you give children's opportunities if instead of sending bombs and guns to countries to like underdeveloped countries we should send books and pens to those countries we should set teachers to those countries and we should invest in them and we should provide them opportunities we should provide the children's there opportunities crooked opportunities sports opportunities we should give them education opportunities and if you educate them like if you take example of a child like if a child is being thought

the right thing since his childhood he will always do the right thing because he has been educated by the right way but if a child has been taught the wrong way he has been shown the wrong image of the world he will things like that and he will always think that these people are his enemies and he will try to kill them he will try to do terrorism and stuff so we need to educate their mind we need to educate them you're living in birmingham a lot now aren't you I mean, you are quite politically active, aren't you? You were voted onto the UK Youth Parliament, I noticed. I mean, given what you've been through and where you are now,

you do have, well, there's no one I don't think in the world with a better platform than you to get that message out there, is it? I mean, are you doing that? Are you trying to educate people even around in the Birmingham area? I mean, you know, there's been issues around there. Yeah, whenever I, as I said, whenever I will get an opportunity, I will try to help young people and I will try to help them through my story. And that's what I did through this in this election when there was an election for the UK Youth Parliament. So I stand from Birmingham along with other candidates and I became the MP of the Birmingham Youth Parliament.

And now we are trying to help young people. We are trying to raise different issues and we are doing different campaigns. and we are trying to help them. We are giving them different opportunities and we are raising our voice for them. And we are helping them. We are raising our voice to the governments and to the local bodies

and to the general bodies like all the politicians and all the ministers and the prime minister up there. And we are spreading our message of peace to them and we are telling them that young people need attention. They need education. They need growing up. They need growth.

like they need special education. They should be taught how to live in a community with unity. Like they need that. We need to make like some like we have in, when we have meetings

of the Birmingham Youth Council, we always have in the city in the center, Lighthouse Center. It's a young people center. So that thing kind of gave me an idea of that we should have those kinds of centers in every area

because what I have seen in that center like young people from around that area come to that center and they sit together and they talk to each other and they get to know each other very well and they get to know about like young people from different communities, not from one community or from different races and communities

come together and they sit there which gives us an image of the whole UK like UK is also a mixed community. It's a mixed community like many, many communities, many people live here from different races, from different nationalities But what we need to do is like We need to be one world

We need to be one people Like united as a united we stand If we stand united we will be strong But if we stand divided we will fall So united we stand Do you come up When you're in your meetings and working as you are now around Burm Do you come across situations in which you feel

That maybe there are youngsters Teenagers who are being manipulated somewhat by people to, I don't know, to groom them again, to become the sort of terrorist that you encountered? Yeah, that's what I've been doing. I've been going to different schools and sharing my stories with the young people and telling them that what is wrong

and what they have done to me and those people who are manipulating you, they are not the right people and they are using wrong name of the religion. I believe that every religion in the world teaches you to live with peace and love. No religion in the world teaches you that you should kill others.

Like, if you see, if the terrorists can show me, like the Quran, which I have read, which my parents have taught me, the Islam which my parents have taught me, and that they teach you that if you do one good deal with one human being, it means you have done good deal with the whole humanity. And if you harm one human being, it means you have harmed the whole humanity.

So that's what I have been learning since my childhood. And I don't know, where did they get that religion from? terrorism, terrorism is a religion itself. Like they have created their own religion and they are living in their own world and they're manipulating young people. And by that, I go to different schools, as I said, I go to different schools and I share my stories there and I give them motivational speeches there. And I have seen a lot of young people getting motivated and inspired by my story. And I'm very grateful to them so that they listen to me and they listen to my story so carefully so and the other problem I have seen in young people here is like they think

they take things for granted here so that's what I have been telling them that you should not take things for granted here like the opportunities and the facilities you the facilities you have here in school outside school there you have cricket academies you have different sports academies you have different sports grounds you have different opportunities in school as well and you and above You have peace here. You are living in a peaceful country. So don't take these things for granted. Always take opportunities, look for opportunities

and serve your country in the best way. Because a lot of children in the world are dreaming about a life like this. They are aiming for a life like this. It's just a dream for them. A life like this is a dream for them. And even they don't want these facilities. The only thing they want is peace in their country.

And I guess the young people here are really lucky. and I think they should take these opportunities and they should make, like, a good use of it. You could do so much good, Wally, couldn't you? My word. From hell, you've found yourself in an extraordinary position. As I said, like, sometimes the worst experiences, this experience has given me something more than pain and agony.

It has given me a lot of strength, determination, patience, And it has given me above all, it has given me the vision of humanity, which I believe that above all relations, all racial differences, creed, cost, nationality, there's only one thing we all should believe in, which is humanity. Tell me about your cricket. Come on, because I know you love your cricket. Yeah, so when in cricket, I will tell you. You're a captain of the school, actually, when you were the cricket captain?

Yeah, and I'm the cricket captain here as well in my school. So you're obviously a decent place. Despite all these injuries, too. I mean, you know, being shot on their leg and so on. Yeah, cricket was actually my passion from the start. I used to love cricket. I used to love watching cricket, and I was so passionate about it. I've watched cricket in Peshire.

I mean, it is a wonderful old town, isn't it? Yeah, it's an historical city. It is. It's a beautiful place to go and watch cricket, actually. Yeah. That's where it started for you. Was it your love of the game? Yeah, like a lot of people in Pakistan,

are like crazy about cricket. They love cricket. It's a passion there. And people are just hungry for cricket to come back home. They are just hungry for it. Like people want, like, you know, recently, international cricket can't get back to Pakistan. So the people are just eagerly waiting for the cricket to get back home.

I hope that happens one day. It will. It will, inshallah. I believe that it will. Peace is coming. Like, you know, after every dark night, There is a bright day, so. What sort of cricket were you playing?

You were playing with the solitate ball, the street cricket and so on? No, I played posh cricket. I play hardball cricket. I played the tape ball cricket as well, but I play hardball cricket. And I'm going to tell you a story that when I came here to UK in 2015, and before I was going, two days before, I was going to Pakistan. I was going back to Pakistan, and then I came back here in 2017. So in 2015, when I was going back to Pakistan two days before, one of our friends took me to cricket ground.

I guess it was a New Zealand versus England cricket match. So I was watching that match in the ground. And I told that he was our family friend. So I told him uncle, I called him Uncle, so I told him that I love cricket and I want to play it. At that time, even though I had my surgery recently and I was on crutches and I couldn't even walk. The doctors told me that you will walk after, you will be able to walk normally after two months. So I told him that I want to play cricket. So at that time, Faro Khazi uncle, the one who supported me and the academy that I go to his academy.

So his son, Ali, Ali Kazi, he was sending out pamphlets in the ground. And luckily he sent out one pamphlet to that uncle. And he called them on the second day. and he called them that there's a guy from Peshawar and he told them about me and he wants to come and play cricket in the academy so they said yeah yeah he's more than welcome like they were already looking for me here so they were so excited about me and i didn't expect i didn't expect that that was like unbelievable and when i went there and and kazi uncle was standing there and he hugged me and he was he started crying and it was like and his son was also standing there and the

like the way they treated me. They treated me so specially. They treated me like I was their own family member. I was his own son and I have been through all this. So he started crying at that time and I was like I was so surprised. And I wasn't expecting that kind of reaction. So and then I said to him that I want to ball. And everyone was looking at me that how can I ball with crutches?

I tried to ball. He gave me a ball and he said like be careful. Don't injure yourself. you had your surgery recently so I tried to ball with that and I bowed one over at that time although I was badly injured but you've bowed over on crutches

yeah that's a determination for you I would like to like I would like to thank them like till that day like till that day like since that day they have supported me like family I go to his academy every every weekend whenever I get bored I just go to that academy and I play cricket there

and he provides me with every facility and he supports me a lot you'll hear from him in a moment I'll hear from him in a moment I'll hear about because you've met some quite famous cricketers haven't you of Eunice Kahn I think you've met

Yeah And Shire De Freed is your hero Yeah He was Boom boom I wanted to meet him since my childhood I used to love him a lot You know when in 2011

Whenever he used to get out on zero Or whenever people used to criticize him I used to cry for him because I loved him so much. That's devotion for you. Yeah, so the thing was... He was great, very exciting, wasn't he? Dashing man.

Yeah. They're handsome man. He was. He's an amazing man. He's still my favorite. Like, you know, when Eunice Khan came to meet me, so I was surprised at first. I thought like the doctors are joking with me. They're just giving me, like, they said that Eunice Khan is coming to meet you guys.

And then he presented me a shirt of... The New Zealand captain sent it for me, Kane Williamson. Oh, did he think? Yeah, he sent his shirt for me. And then after that, when Pakistan team was going for World Cup, they were the Pakistani squad, so they came to meet us in hospital. And the person I was so excited about was Shida Freed at that time. And I already told my mother.

My mother told me that you will walk after, like, you will be able to walk soon. But I told her that, no, I would walk on that day. when Shaita Priddy will come to meet me. And I will stand up and I will go and run and hug him at that time. So when he was coming, I was so excited. I couldn't believe my eyes that I'm seeing him in front of my eyes. And he just literally came to meet me. And he told me that you are a very strong guy.

And I will come to play cricket with you. And he gave me a lot of motivation. And he encouraged me a lot. And then the other cricketers as well, they were also amazing. Ms. Ball, Huck, Ahmad Shehzad, all the Pakistani Cricket Scala. Like everyone was there so amazing. David, as an email saying, is wandering around the shops in tears listening. What a great example of hope amid despair, and that's typical.

There aren't words to describe how humbling it is to hear while his story. To come through that experience and devoted life to others is an incredible act of selflessness. And thank you for sharing your story with us, people are saying. You must get that sort of reaction all the time, though, don't you? Yeah, I mean, the way the people show support and love to me and they show respect to me, it's just amazing. and it encourages me a lot it gives me more motivation it gives me more motivation in my mission

that the people are at my back they are supporting me so it gives me a lot more strength now you do know Malala don't you I think you're I mean she's from Birmingham isn't she now yeah so Malala family I know them I should explain she was a young girl who was shot

in the school bus wasn't she by yeah she has also suffered a lot and she is also one of the inspirational personality that has raised her voice after being through such a, like, horrible situation, but now sees an inspiration for millions of girls around the world. And their family has supported me a lot. Their family has also treated me like their own family. And I meet them on several occasions.

I meet them, like, literally every weekend. So it's been great with them. Like, they have also, like, supported me a lot. What's she doing now? She's in Oxford University and she's doing PPE. Is she? Right. So she's really, I mean, her life again from a dreadful situation is...

Yeah, she has also going through a lot like her. Yeah. Let's bring in your coach, shall where you call him uncle, he's not your uncle. But I know you... He's like... It's a respectful term, isn't it? Yeah, he's more than like... Furuk Kazi, come on, Fridu, come and stand here.

And he runs the Forward Drive Cricket Academy in... in Birmingham, he's coming his track suit and everything through. There's no need for that, you know. I'm not going to get you playing out there. Well, the way you've batted yesterday, Pakistan, they might need you. I think so. Now then, what's a, I mean, first of all, tell us about what he's cricket then. How good a cricketer is he?

Let's be honest, come on. He tells me he's an aggressive left-hand batsman. First of all, he's missed a few points out. At that time, his younger brother was also at the school. He was eight years old. he was the first one to inform the authorities of what was going on inside. And so you can imagine young man here, he belongs to a lion-hearted family. And in Pakistan, generally, the Pashtun, the Patan people are very, very full of pride,

yeah, very brave throughout history. King Khan is an example, yes. King Khan, yeah. Yes. So there was a big celebration, but 10 days before the attack happened. So he was the captain of the school team, yeah. And unfortunately, he lost all his teammates in that tragedy. 27 kids in his classroom all perished.

You know, what he's been through is a horrendous. in this. I wouldn't wish you don't anybody in the world. How much is cricket helping him to go? I'm not speaking without you being here, Wally, but it's interesting to speak to your cricket coach. I mean, is playing sport and so on? Is that helping? Most definitely. Since, you know, I met Willie initially in 2015, that was only a few months since he came in April, April 2015, and the first time he came to me was in June. And on crutches, he wanted a ball.

I said, please, please, don't be stupid. But he got no uncle, just a few balls. And I think he managed by six balls. Yes. You can see the passion, you know, what cricket means everything to us. On the day of the incident, In Pakistan in December, it's very, very cold.

Okay? So in the morning, so Valid asked his dad, dad is very cold. I can't find my vest t-shirt underneath his school uniform. So his dad gave a brand new shirt which he bought a few days ago. So when the tragedy happened, since the beginning of the incident, eight hours have gone. everything's all the shooting stopped eight hours of gone

and nobody in the family can find relief they've searched amongst dead people all of a sudden news comes news comes at there's one young man still alive at a military hospital all his family rushed around there

his cousins everybody apart from his dad they came back there now because his face was all bandished up and they couldn't recognize their own son your own cousin then they rushed back to them

where all the dead bodies were and no nothing at all and then his dad had the courage or you know look I want to go and visit that kid again and luckily luckily his dad

and he saw the west he goes yeah that's the west I gave him this morning So it was like God's will, you know, all these things happening. How bleed came across and how bleed? In between that, my dad got unconscious twice because after seeing all the dead bodies and all the injuries, he got unconscious twice.

And my cousins and all of them also gave up. After watching all the dead bodies, they said like we can't bear it anymore. How do you square up? up religion now, well, then. You've, because you've seen humanity, it is absolute worst. You've seen shocking, dreadful things, and

and yet now, you've come through the side of it. I mean, my words are totally inadequate really for this, but, you know, everyone will understand where you are now, and I've heard you speaking. I mean, is there any part of it sort of thankful for where you are now?

I mean, does that make sense or not? I mean, to be in the position that you are, how do you square at all? Like, you know, sometimes, like, certain situations in your life happens, and I was kind of, like, upset at first, but now what has happened? Like, you have to face it anyway. What just happened to you? You have to face it in no way, in life. You have to face it, I have to face it anyway.

What just happened to me? And if I faced it sadly, so what will happen, nothing will change. So rather than facing it sadly, I should be grateful, I should be thankful that I should survive. And I should see the positive side of it, rather than seeing the negative side of it. I should find out positive things in it. And I should say, like, I so far, thank God.

And I'm doing great things now. I'm meeting such amazing people, such lovely people, and the way they're showing us support. And after that, and I can change many people's life now. I can change people's life. Because when you go through such experience and when you go through such art, like incidents, your voice can then make a change.

And I want to make that change. And even if one of my mentors, like she told me, her name is Muniba Mazari. She also was like from the start with me. She's like an elder sister with me. She's an amazing mentor to me. Once she told me that if you are sitting in the room of 600 and you are speaking to 600 people

and if you inspire, like even if you don't inspire 500, 99 people and if you inspire one of them and if you can change one of their life it means it's successful you so it's a success for me if I can change someone's life or if I can inspire someone through my story you'll have inspired more than one buddy let me tell you that but thank you for coming in I don't know quite how you've managed to to tell us that story but you have done it is it is extraordinary it is remarkable you are a remarkable person and you do have an amazing opportunity, I think,

and you just seem so well equipped to go out there and do great things. Thank you so much. It was just an honor for me, and it was my pleasure to share my story with the people. It was, thank you so much for giving me this great opportunity to share my voice with the people,

so it's great, thank you so much. Thank you so much. Well, I know you won't miss your opportunity. I can see that in your eyes. Thank you for coming. Thank you so much. Well, listening back, I still find the details of Walid's story. A tough listen, but what a remarkable young man.

If you'd like to hear our interview with Malala that I mentioned at the start, that's available on BBC Sounds, along as so many other memorable interviews from down the years. Just hit the subscribe button. This is the CMS podcast. Classic View from the Boundary. Alan Shearer and Ian Wright are in my kitchen. What's going on here? The all-new Match of the Day Top Ten podcast,

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