Pakistan’s National Peace Award Winner Injured In Gun Attack

Islamabad, Oct 10, IRNA – Winner of the National Peace Award, Malala Yousufzai and another girl were injured in an attack on their school van by unidentified gunmen on Tuesday in North Western Pakistan, local media reported. Malala was returning home from her school in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Mingora area when her van was attacked by unknown men. Reports said Malala was hit by couple of bullets to her neck and head. Both injured girls were taken to the Saidu Sharif Hospital. According to doctors, Malala was now out of danger. However, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has ordered to shift her to a Peshawar hospital swiftly through a helicopter. The prime minister has strongly condemned the incident. The incident spread fear and panic among the local residents. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain confirmed the shooting and blamed the attack on terrorists. Hailing from Mingora, the 14-year-old Yousufzai struggled for restoring peace in Swat and education for girls in the region for which she was awarded the National Peace Award by former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. Yousufzai also remained a speaker for the Child Assembly in Swat, which works for child rights in the district./end