Malala Yousafzai arrives in Pakistan days after 10th anniversary of shooting by Taliban


2 min read
Read later
Print
Share

Malala | Photo: Instagram||malala|

Karachi [Pakistan]: Nobel Peace laureate Malala Yousafzai on Tuesday returned to her native Pakistan to meet flood victims, 10 years after a Taliban assassination attempt against her.

Her visit -- only the second since she was flown to Britain for life-saving treatment -- comes as thousands of people protested in her home town, where the same militant group is once again on the rise.

Yousafzai was just 15 years old when the Pakistani Taliban -- an independent group that shares a common ideology with the Afghan Taliban -- shot her in the head over her campaign for girls' education.

On Tuesday, two days after the 10th anniversary of the attack, she landed in Karachi, from where she will travel to areas devastated by unprecedented monsoon flooding.

Her visit aims "to help keep international attention focused on the impact of floods in Pakistan and reinforce the need for critical humanitarian aid", her organisation Malala Fund said in a statement.

Catastrophic flooding put a third of Pakistan under water, displaced eight million people, and caused an estimated $28 billion in damages.

Yousafzai grew up in the town of Mingora in the deeply conservative Swat Valley, close to the border with Afghanistan,

The Pakistani Taliban, known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), waged a years-long insurgency there that ended with a major military crackdown in 2014.

But there has been a resurgence in unrest since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul last year.

The TTP has claimed dozens of attacks in recent weeks, mostly against security forces and anti-Taliban elders.

"We are tired and can no longer carry dead bodies," said Muhammad Ali Shah, the former mayor of Swat.

"It is the responsibility of the state to protect its citizens and provide them with security, but the government's silence on all these incidents is criminal."

More than 5,000 people blocked a main road through Mingora, sparked by the latest attack on a school bus on Monday, in which the driver was killed and a 10 or 11-year-old boy wounded.

The TTP have denied responsibility and the police said they are investigating the motive.

Students and teachers walked out of schools -- including the school attended by Yousafzai that her father established -- to call for peace.

"Our protest will continue until the arrest of the killers, we will not rise from here until the top government officials assure us of justice and an end to militancy," said doctor Amjad Ali, 36.

Add Comment
Related Topics

Get daily updates from Mathrubhumi.com

Newsletter
Youtube
Telegram
Disclaimer: Kindly avoid objectionable, derogatory, unlawful and lewd comments, while responding to reports. Such comments are punishable under cyber laws. Please keep away from personal attacks. The opinions expressed here are the personal opinions of readers and not that of Mathrubhumi.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Justin Trudeau

3 min

Canada's govt calls on House speaker to resign over inviting man who fought for Nazi unit

Sep 26, 2023


canada

1 min

Canada updates travel advisory; asks its citizens in India to 'stay vigilant and exercise caution'

Sep 25, 2023


Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes part in a bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G20 Summit

2 min

US diplomat says intelligence from 'Five Eyes' nations helped Canada to link India to Sikh's killing

Sep 24, 2023