A senior Pakistani Taliban commander has been captured in south-eastern Afghanistan in what was hailed as a major sign of much improved relations between the two neighbouring countries.
Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, described as a top-ranking Pakistani member of the Taliban, was captured on Monday, along with three of his bodyguards and a small cache of weapons, in Mohmand Dara district, which shares a border with Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region.
The ambush was carried out by Afghanistan’s intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security (NDS), and the Afghan police, an official in Nangarhar said.
With some worried that the Taliban could continue to gain ground in both countries, an allied front from the two nations’ governments should certainly increase regional stability in the weeks and months to come, and assuage the concerns of some doubters.
Speaking in English, Malala said she wanted to “serve the people”.
“Today you can see that I’m alive. I can speak, I can see you, I can see everyone and today I can speak and I’m getting better day by day.
“It’s just because of the prayers of people, because all the people - men, women, children - all of them have prayed for me.
“Because of these prayers God has given me this new life and this is a second life.
“I want to serve the people and I want every girl, every child, to be educated and for that reason we have organised Malala Fund.”
Yousafzai nearly died after being shot in October while campaigning for the rights of education for young girls. She has been receiving treatment in Birmingham, England, since the incident.
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DEFIANCE Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, center, with members of hospital staff, left Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England. The 15-year-old girl was shot by the Taliban in October for campaigning for girls’ education. (Photo: AFP-Getty Images via The Wall Street Journal)
A big day for Malala Yousafzai, as well as the countless people around the world who’ve been moved by her spirit, and harrowing plight.
We held a special prayer for Malala in our school assembly and also lit candles. We did not organise any open event because our school and its students still face a security threat.Mariam Khalid, principal of Khushhal Public School in Pakistan • Discussing her school’s marking of “Malala Day.” After the attempted killing of 15-year-old Malala Yousafzai by the Pakistani Taliban last month, the United Nations called for today to be “a global day of action” in her honor. Vigils are anticipated throughout the world, both recognizing Malala and the cause that nearly killed her, education for girls and women. For her school and classmates, an assembly was held and a prayer given, but they aren’t able to honor openly — fear of reprisal from the Taliban on the occasion prevented the holding of a public event. source
The Taliban have kidnapped me and tortured me in the past for promoting women’s development, but now they are threatening the entire family.Reyatullah Khan, father of 17-year-old Pakistani activist Hinna Khan - Hinna recently received a phone call, allegedly from Taliban gunmen in Pakistan’s Swat valley, claiming that she and her family would be killed if they did not stop speaking out against the militant group. Her parents have long opposed the Taliban presence in Pakistan, and were thrown out of their home for such opposition during the Taliban takeover of the Swat valley in 2009. Many believe the Taliban are attempting to re-establish legitimacy in the region after gunmen, who opened fired at point blank range, failed to kill 14-year-old Malala Yousufzai earlier this month. source
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‘The Girl Who Just Wants To Learn’ Opens Her Eyes of the Day: Malala Yousafzai, the 14-year-old Pakistani education activist shot by the Taliban last week on her way home from school, is awake and walking, according to her doctors in the U.K.:
Malala is now well enough… she is happy… she’s communicating very freely, she’s writing.
However, she’s “not out of the woods” yet.
She is still showing some signs of infection, which is probably related to the bullet track. [There is] some infection in the bullet track, which is our key source of concern.
Doctors estimate she will need a few weeks to rehabilitate further, then part of her skull will need to be reconstructed.
[bbc]
Wonderful news that she’s come so far, albeit with the health dangers and both physical and mental ordeals she still faces. Hoping the best.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mc5uy5g1HU1qzpwi0o1_500.jpg)
‘The Girl Who Just Wants To Learn’ Opens Her Eyes of the Day: Malala Yousafzai, the 14-year-old Pakistani education activist shot by the Taliban last week on her way home from school, is awake and walking, according to her doctors in the U.K.:
Malala is now well enough… she is happy… she’s communicating very freely, she’s writing.However, she’s “not out of the woods” yet.
She is still showing some signs of infection, which is probably related to the bullet track. [There is] some infection in the bullet track, which is our key source of concern.Doctors estimate she will need a few weeks to rehabilitate further, then part of her skull will need to be reconstructed.
[bbc]
Wonderful news that she’s come so far, albeit with the health dangers and both physical and mental ordeals she still faces. Hoping the best.
An infamous Taliban cleric from Pakistan’s Swat valley is believed to be the man who ordered the assassination of Malala Yousufzai while she was on her way to school last week. The 14-year-old female activist survived multiple gunshots from point-blank range, and is currently in the UK under the watch of medical experts following a successful surgery to have a bullet near her spinal cord removed. Militant leader Mullah Fazlullah is currently on the run from both NATO and Pakistani forces, no longer thought to be in day-to-day command of his Movement for the Enforcement of Islamic Sharia, and possibly hiding in the Konar province of Afghanistan. source
She used to propagate against mujahideen (holy warriors) to defame (the) Taliban. The Quran says that people propagating against Islam and Islamic forces would be killed. We targeted her because she would speak against the Taliban while sitting with shameless strangers and idealized the biggest enemy of Islam, Barack Obama.Pakistan’s Taliban, via a written statement • Addressing the militant group’s decision to ambush a school bus carrying 14-year-old female activist Malala Yousufzai last week. Yousufzai became a vocal opponent of the Taliban after the group closed a number of all-female schools in Pakistan’s Swat valley, including the school which Malala attended at the time. She was airlifted from Pakistan to the UK yesterday to undergo additional treatment following successful surgery to remove a bullet near her spinal cord. “We did not attack her for raising voice for education,” the Taliban said in the statement, adding, “We targeted her for opposing mujahideen and their war. Shariah (Islamic law) says that even a child can be killed if he is propagating against Islam.” source
A Pakistani schoolgirl shot in the head by the Taliban has every chance of making a “good recovery”, British doctors said on Monday as 14-year-old Malala Yousufzai arrived at a hospital in central England for treatment of her severe wounds.
Yousufzai, who was shot for advocating education for girls, was flown from Pakistan to receive specialist treatment at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital at a unit expert in dealing with complex trauma cases that has treated hundreds of soldiers wounded in Afghanistan.
“Doctors…believe she has a chance of making a good recovery on every level,” said Dr Dave Rosser, the hospital’s medical director, adding that her treatment and rehabilitation could take months.
Promising news regarding the health of Malala Yousufzai, an outspoken 14-year-old critic of the Taliban, whose school bus was attacked by multiple gunmen last week. While Yousufzai underwent successful surgery to remove a bullet near her spinal cord the day after the attack, she will need intensive follow-up care and treatment, and will hopefully make a full recovery with the aid of British health experts.
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