Warrior spirit: Nation prays, Malala shows ‘positive signs’ of recovery
As the nation prayed for her recovery on Friday, doctors treating Malala Yousafzai said the next 24 to 36 hours are crucial for young peace activist who was shot by Taliban militants earlier this week.
The 14-year old girl, who rose to prominence for defying the Taliban ban on girls’ education, is being treated at Armed Forces Institute of Cardiolgoy (AFIC) in Rawalpindi. The chief military spokesperson told reporters that Yousafzai is still on a ventilator, but her condition is ‘satisfactory.’
Malala was transefered to the military’s top hospital on Thursday from Peshawar where doctors had successfully removed a bullet from her body.
Positive signs
“Fresh tests done on Malala at the AFIC indicate that there are no signs of deterioration … this is a positive sign,” Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa told The Express Tribune.
“But the next 24 to 36 hours are critical,” Maj-Gen Bajwa said.
A panel of highly qualified medical specialists is monitoring her situation round the clock to ensure her early recovery, he added. The DG ISPR said the decision to transfer Malala from Peshawar to Rawalpindi was taken in accordance with directives from the doctors’ panel.
The reason, he said, was that “the intensive care facilities here were found to be extremely suitable”, adding that all tests and investigations are being conducted again.
He said that no decision has been taken yet on sending Yousafzai abroad for treatment.
Bajwa also said that Yousafzai’s team of doctors travelled with her. “The panel consists of both military and civilian doctors but there are two foreign doctors as well who are consulted for expert opinion,” he said.
Meanwhile, hospital sources said fresh medical tests conducted on Yousafzai revealed that her brain had not sustained any damage. Medical specialists earlier feared that bullet wound might harm Yousafzai’s brain but fresh tests have indicated otherwise.
A clear picture would only emerge once she is removed from the ventilator, sources added.
PM visits Malala
Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, accompanied by top lawmakers from allied parties, visited the hospital in Rawalpindi to inquire about Yousafzai’s health.
Speaking to reporters later, the prime minister praised her courage and said the young activist is the ‘real face of Pakistan.’
“We cannot see our children being killed, we have to root out terrorism,” he said, adding that the “attack on Malala is an attack on moderation and education.”
Military operation
Calling the attack on Yousafzai an attack on “the entire Pakistani nation,” Interior Minister Rehman Malik used the incident to build a case for a military operation in North Waziristan.
All roads in terrorism lead to North Waziristan, which has become a safe haven for militants, the interior minister said while talking to the media at Karachi Airport.
He said it would be premature to announce it, but added that the government would consider an operation in North Waziristan.
“It will be a joint decision of the government and military leadership,” he said.
Separately, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said the government must pursue terrorists wherever they are, even if it may be in Waziristan.
Suspects arrested
The Swat police said they have arrested a number of people suspected to be involved in the assassination attempt but denied arresting any key suspect.
Earlier on Friday, news channels, quoting District Police Officer Swat Gul Afzal Afridi, said that Swat police have arrested a key suspect believed to be the mastermind of the attack on Yousafzai.
Afridi, however, categorically denied the assertion in a press statement issued Friday evening.
Sources, meanwhile, said around 150 people were arrested on suspicion, but 30 were released after initial interrogation.
Yousafzai’s school reopens
Khushal Public School, where Yousafzai is enrolled, reopened on Friday but attendance was thin.
Security of the all educational institutions, including that of Yousafzai’s, and vehicles carrying school children was beefed up in Mingora, upon the directives of the Deputy IG Police Akhtar Hayat. With additional input from Umer Farooq in PESHAWAR and our correspondent in KARACHI.
(Read: An unholy mess)
Published in The Express Tribune, October 13th, 2012.
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