Malala returns to Pakistan for first time since shooting

ISLAMABAD: Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai returned to her native Pakistan yesterday, six years after she was shot in the head by Taliban gunmen for advocating greater education of girls.

Malala and her family met Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in the capital, Islamabad, on her first visit to her homeland since she was airlifted for medical treatment in Britain in 2012.

Clad in a traditional shalwar khameez outfit with her head covered with a red and blue duppata scarf, Malala also met several female Pakistani ministers in the prime minister’s office.

But she is unlikely to travel to her home region of Swat due to security threats, a relative and security sources said.

“It’s been long-held desire of Malala and her parents to visit Swat and see her relatives and friends. But she was not given permission due to security concerns,” said one relative.

Earlier, Pakistan’s Geo TV showed footage of Malala after she arrived at Islamabad airport, walking to a car escorted by security officials.

At the age of 17, Malala became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 for her education advocacy.

In October 2012, masked gunmen stopped a bus taking Malala and some friends home from school and shot her. Two of her friends were also wounded.

After surviving the attack, Malala was airlifted abroad and underwent surgery.

Unable to return to Pakistan after her recovery, Malala moved to Britain, setting up the Malala Fund and supporting education advocacy groups with a focus on Pakistan, Nigeria, Jordan, Syria and Kenya.

Last week on Twitter, Malala, who is now a 20-year-old Oxford student, expressed a longing for her homeland. – Reuters