Brave Malala, 14, who survived attempted assassination by the Taliban for going to school, comes to UK

Posted by admin Africa & World Politics Monday, October 15th, 2012

Targeted: Malala Yousafzai, 14, spoke out about suffering under the Taliban regime

THE schoolgirl shot in the head and neck by the Taliban is being brought to the UK for treatment.

A British medical team has flown to Pakistan to help doctors looking after 14-year-old Malala Yousafzai and will now transfer her to the UK for ‘prolonged treatment’.

Malala – an outspoken advocate for girls’ education and critic of the Taliban – was shot as she waited for a school bus last Tuesday in the northwestern district of Swat.

Two classmates who were with her were also injured in the gunfire.

The teenager’s life was saved by neurosurgeons in a Pakistani military hospital and she has since been in intensive care at a military hospital in Rawalpind.

Doctors have decided she needs long-term care to help her recover from the physical and psychological effects of the attack, and she is being moved to a rehabilitation centre in Birmingham, according to local news sources.

She is being transferred to the UK by an air ambulance arranged by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Pakistani army confirmed.

In a statement it said: ‘The panel of doctors recommended that Malala be shifted abroad to a UK centre which has the capability to provide integrated care to children who have sustained severe injury.

‘Pakistan has arranged with the UAE for a specially equipped air ambulance which will be used to transfer Malala to the UK. In order to provide continuity of care, an army intensive care specialist will accompany Malala on her flight.

‘All expenses including transportation of Malala by specially equipped air ambulance and treatment abroad will be borne by the government of Pakistan.’

The shooting has provoked outrage in the country and tens of thousands of people have since marched in Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi, in support of her.wp_posts