The five-day 16th GCU All Pakistan Parliamentary Debates, hosted by the Government College University Debating Society on Monday ended with the victory of University College Lahore in Urdu Debates while Lahore School of Economics won the Professor Dr Khalid Aftab English Parliamentary Trophy.
Eminent Old Ravian former Justice Muhammad Khawaja Sharif was the Chief Guest at the final rounds of the debates while GCU Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Ikramul Haq was also present on the occasion. The motion for the Urdu debates in final round, "This House believes that Pakistan can liberate itself from American Influence," was defended by the University College Lahore and Faisalabad Medical College, while University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Lahore and CICAS Lahore opposed it.
The motion was also put before the audience and was passed in favour that Pakistan can liberate itself from American Influence. Hafiz Usman Tanvir from CICAS Lahore was declared the Best Urdu Speaker.
The topic for English Debates, "This House would give the people right for armed struggle against dictatorial regimes," was defended by the LGS and CMH Medical College Lahore while CICAS Lahore and Lahore School of Economics opposed the topic. The University College Lahore Debater Fatima Bokahri was declared the Best English Speaker and was awarded with the Syed Muhammad Ali Abass Medal.
The GCU Debating Society also set a new trend this year as the orators also gave marks to the adjudicators. Rana Abdul Aziz and Dr Sameer Shaharyar were declared the best Urdu and English adjudicators respectively.
Over 70 teams from all over the country participated in eight nail biting rounds of the tournament spread over five days. Addressing the prize distribution ceremony, former Justice Muhammad Khawaja Sharif said that "we should stop sacrificing our self-respect and dignity for material gains if we want to liberate ourselves from the US influence."
Addressing the ceremony, GCU Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Ikramul Haq said that the co-curricular activities especially, debates play a very vital role in grooming of students. He said such debates taught students how disagree with others while paying respect to their faiths and ideas. The Vice Chancellor expressed pleasure to see the best orators of the country having converged at the GCU tournament. GCU promoted the culture of tolerance and intellect through debates, seminars and publications. Being the bastion of liberal education in Pakistan, GCU has nurtured some of the most prominent luminaries of the world, the vice chancellor said.