Gunmen on Tuesday opened fire on the school van of 14-year-old Pakistani activist, Malala Yousufzai, leaving her seriously wounded along with two other classmates. Her sin was that she advocates education of the girl child.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack through its spokesman, Ihsnaullah Ishan who blamed the shooting on Malala’s activist blogging, Ishan told CNN.
Malala is now in stable condition and safe at the moment. Her doctor however said a bullet got into her neck and will be difficult to remove.
The attack began when armed militants stopped a van as it was taking her and two other girls home from school. According to reports, the armed militants stopped Malala’s school van and asked which girl was Malala. When the girls pointed Malala out, the men opened fire, Bibi, one of the wounded girls said. The girls were already wounded before the van’s driver was able to speed away. The other two girls’ injuries were not considered life-threatening.
Malala last year told CNN she feared “being beheaded by the Taliban because of my passion for education. During their rule, the Taliban used to march into our houses to check whether we were studying or watching television.”
Her work has been well appreciated by non-extremists in Pakistan and this led to her being awarded Pakistan’s first National Peace Prize in November, 2011.
