Malala shooting: Karzai calls it an attack on Afghan girls
Queen Elizabeth Hospital says 14-year-old is in stable condition.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday strongly condemned the attack on Malala Yousafzai, the 14-year-old peace icon, in a letter written to Awami National Party (ANP) leader Asfandyar Wali Khan.
Terming the shootings by Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan militants an attack on Afghan girls, Karzai expressed his heartfelt sorrow over the assault, which also left Malala’s friends Shazia Ramzan and Kainat Riaz injured.
He said that Afghanistan was feeling the pain of their families and urged that the voices being raised against the act should not be silenced.
The Afghan president added that the attack on Malala and her friends was a horrible conspiracy of the enemies of humanity and Islam and that it was meant to stop girls from acquiring education.
President Karzai claimed the incident was a shameful act which also went against the Pakhtun tradition as there was no room for attacking women in the Pakhtun culture. He added that the attack revealed to both Afghans and Pakistanis that they were facing a common, ferocious enemy because in Afghanistan, extreme elements were attacking girls’ schools and creating hurdles for them.
He reiterated that measures should be taken in order to stop such terror acts.
‘Malala remains stable’
Meanwhile, the hospital treating Malala revealed on Wednesday morning that the 14-year-old remained stable after spending a comfortable night at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.
The hospital’s website – which has dedicated a separate page exclusively for daily updates on Yousafzai – said: “Malala Yousafzai this morning remains stable according to the medical team monitoring her care ... She spent a second comfortable night at the hospital and continues to be cared for by Queen Elizabeth and Birmingham Children’s Hospital doctors.”
It went on to add that “Malala remained in a stable condition and continued to impress doctors by responding well to her care.”
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) said that they understood there were reports that Malala’s family had travelled to the UK and that they are with her at the hospital. But they clarified that currently the family were still in Pakistan.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 18th, 2012.