Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today decided to confer "Sitara-e-Shujaat" -- one of Pakistan's top bravery awards -- on a 14-year-old boy who died while stopping a suicide bomber from attacking his school.        

"Prime Minister has advised the President to approve the conferment of 'Sitara-e-Shujaat' to shaheed Aitzaz Hasan, a student of class IX in Hangu," said a statement released by the Prime Minister's Office.        

It said Hasan's brave act saved the lives of hundreds of students and established a "sterling example of gallantry and patriotism". Hasan died on Monday when the bomber detonated his suicide vest after the boy prevented him from entering the school in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. There were nearly 2,000 students in the school at the time of the attack.        

The school is located in Ibrahimzai, a Shia-dominated area and the attack was claimed by the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a notorious extremist group.         Earlier in the day, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa police recommended to Chief Minister Pervez Khattak that the boy should be posthumously honoured for his bravery.