Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai In Pakistan, Five Years After She Was Shot By Taliban Militants

Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai is visiting her home-country Pakistan for the first time since being shot at by Taliban militants more than five years ago.

Although there has been no official confirmation, reports suggest that Malala, her immediate family, and officials of the Malala Foundation flew into Islamabad in the wee hours of the morning. Malala has returned to visit Pakistan for the first time since she was airlifted to the UK to be treated for brain injuries after being shot at a point blank range by Taliban militants who wanted to silence her for her support to women’s education.

According to reports, Malala is scheduled to stay in Pakistan until April 2. She will meet Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as well as work on her programme that focuses on promoting education in less-developed areas of the country with Pakistani authorities. Malala founded the Malala Foundation which is involved in humanitarian work. Reportedly, an event has also been organised to welcome Malala at the Prime Minister's Office.

Malala’s itinerary is being kept secret due to security reasons, and there is no confirmation yet if she will visit her home town in Swat valley.

Earlier this year in March 2018, the Nobel laureate appeared on My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman on Netflix. Speaking of Swat, her hometown, Malala stated: "It is just like a paradise on Earth." She said she, "did not realise how beautiful Swat was" until she moved to the UK "and looked out the window and asked where the mountains were.”

As to whether she would return to Swat, Malala said: "I haven’t been back to Swat since I was attacked. Unfortunately, it’s been a very difficult time. I tried to go but I didn’t find the right time…I have received a lot of support in my country. There is this lust for change. People want to see a change in their country…I am already doing work there but I want my feet to touch that land.”

Malala first came to spotlight as a schoolgirl, when she started writing, under the pseudonym ‘Gul Mukai’, a diary of her life under the Taliban rule in Swat that appeared in BBC Urdu. Malala strongly advocated for education for girls through her diary.

In October 2012, Malala was on her way home in a school van when she and her class fellows were attacked by Taliban militants. She was hit in the head, but survived the attack and was airlifted to the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology (AFIC), Rawalpindi, where she had several surgeries before she was flown to the UK for advanced treatment. The attack left Malala with a serious brain injury and she struggled to speak for several months after the assault.

In 2014, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her contributions to and work for promoting education for children. She was 17-year at the time — the youngest-ever Nobel laureate. She shared the prize with Kailash Satyarthi, a children’s rights activist from India.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 29, 2018 05:15 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).