British, Pakistani, UAE ministers visit Malala’s hospital

UK: Pakistan's interior minister and the foreign ministers of Britain and the UAE visited the English hospital treating shot Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai on Monday.

Britain's Foreign Office said the trio also met with the father of 15-year-old Malala, who was shot in the head by the Taliban earlier this month as punishment for campaigning for girls' education, in an attack that shocked the world.

She was flown from Pakistan on October 15 for treatment at a specialist hospital in Birmingham, central England, in an air ambulance provided by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). “I visited the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham today to enquire after the health of Malala and to convey messages of good health and best wishes on behalf of the government and the whole Pakistani nation,” said interior minister Rehman Malik.

“We are grateful to the hospital authorities, especially the doctors treating Malala, for taking care of her in a most professional manner. As a result, she has made very good recovery in the past few days.” He expressed gratitude to Britain and the UAE for their support for Malala, who needs reconstructive surgery after a bullet grazed her brain in the October 9 attack, coming within centimetres of killing her. “Malala's incident should not be seen in isolation,” Malik said.

“She is a symbol of courage and determination against the forces of extremist ideology.

AFP