Malala's wounded friends still haunted by Taliban attack
Kainaat Riaz and Shazia Ramzan were injured when Taliban attacked their school bus in a bid to kill Malala for the "crime" of promoting girls' education.
Speaking to AFP on the UN-declared "Malala Day" of global action to support the young campaigner and call for better schooling for girls, 16-year-old Riaz said the October 9 attack still made her afraid.
"I am still terrified. I still get tears in my eyes whenever I think of that incident. I saw Malala in the pool of blood in front of me with my eyes," she told AFP at her home in Mingora, the town in northwestern Swat Valley where the attack took place.
Malala's courage and determination has made her an inspiration for millions and Riaz said she was pleased that despite the Taliban's bid to silence the 15-year-old, Malala's message was being heard around the world.
"She always said that we should do something for girls' education and she did not care about her own life when she was doing this," she said.
Ramzan, 13, said the friends had been chatting and joking as usual on the bus when the militants opened fire and she still feels "terrorised" when she remembers it.
"I am proud that I am her close friend and the whole world is commemorating international day for her, but I would be much happier if she was here with us today," she told AFP.
She said the Taliban attack had made her even more determined to go to school.
"The shooting tried to stop us from getting an education – it was our test and we must pass it," she said
UN education special envoy Gordon Brown, in Pakistan to launch efforts to help the government boost education, phoned Riaz and Ramzan on Saturday.
In Mingora security fears meant Malala's schoolmates could not hold a public demonstration for her, but they marked the UN day with a special assembly and prayers.
"My message on this day for Malala is that the whole nation is praying for her and she will be among us very soon," Riaz said.
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The wester backed media is millking this to the hilt,,,How many royhinga muslims have been on the news NONE..
Pak study brainwashed generation on social media is making lot of fuss about Malala's shooting being fake but at the same time they ignore the fact that if this is a drama then your beloved Pak Army and Tilban are part of this drama because taliban have accepted responsibility of her shooting and Pak Army kept her in their care for in initial 5-7 days and they didn,t say any thing. So if it is a drama then you must classify these monster (Pak Army and Taliban) as foreign agent as well. Just throwing Mud on Malala would not be a fair business.
too much MALALA on media......
According to supporters of Taliban Khan and Fazl-ur-Rehman, This girl's statement is a pack of lies. It was not a pool of blood, the director of drama had put tomato sauce in the van.