The Debating Society of Government College University (GCU) Lahore organised its two-day Annual Internal Debates, featuring serious and humorous speech competitions in English, Urdu and Punjabi.

The competitions brought together students to demonstrate their public speaking, critical thinking and argumentative skills.

GCU Director Students' Affairs M. Siddique Awan said the event went beyond traditional declamation by placing greater emphasis on logical reasoning, critical analysis and persuasive communication.

The first day featured English and Punjabi competitions, while the second day was dedicated to Urdu debates. Students spoke on a range of intellectual, social and humorous topics, including the relationship between reason and spirituality, political ideologies and the impact of artificial intelligence on human thinking.

In the English serious speech competition, Abdur Rehman Anwar secured first position, followed by Mahnoor Aizaz and Sana Khan. Muhammad Ali received a consolation prize. Asadullah and Tayyab secured the first and second positions, respectively, in the English humorous speech competition.

In the Punjabi serious speech category, Malik Haris stood first, Shoaib Mehmood second and Ali Hamza third. Abu Bakar Nazar and Uzair Ranjha secured the top two positions in the Punjabi humorous speech competition.

In the Urdu serious speech competition, Aiman Fatima secured first position, Rai Noraiz Sahi second, while Sehrish and Sanwal Shabbir shared third position. In the Urdu humorous category, Abdullah Khan stood first, Ammar Afzal second and Abdullah Shehzada third. Azan Kokhar received an overall consolation prize.

Former office-bearers of the GCU Debating Society, Shah Jahan Tahir, Jazibuddin Ahmed Khan and Talha Farooqi, along with poet and former society member Saifur Rehman Jaffar, adjudicated the competitions.