Malala Yousafzai sent to UK for further treatment: ISPR

RAWALPINDI: Malala Yusufzai has been sent to UK for further treatment, following the decision of the board of doctors treating her in the military hospital here and with the consent of her family members, Geo News reporte.

Teen peace activist Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the head nearly a week ago in a targeted attack, was on Monday shifted to the U. K. for “prolonged care” that could involve repair/replacement of damaged bones of the skull and intensive neuro rehabilitation.

According to the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), she was being shifted to a centre in the U.K. which has the capability to provide integrated care to children who have sustained severe injury. The decision was taken by a panel of Pakistani doctors and international experts who were of the opinion that Malala would require prolonged care to fully recover from the physical and psychological effects of the trauma that she has undergone.

The Taliban is threatening to kill a 14-year-old Pakistani girl whom it shot for helping other girls go to school -- if she survives a wounding that has made her a hero to many Pakistanis.

Schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the head and neck, was airlifted Thursday (Oct. 11) to a military hospital for her own protection after the attack that also injured two of her friends. A hospital spokesman described her condition as "satisfactory" on Friday.

Maj. Gen. Asim Saleem Bajwa said she is being kept unconscious and on a ventilator. He said the bullet entered her head and went into her neck toward her spine, but it was too soon to say whether she had any significant head injury.

Pakistanis in government and media have expressed outrage over the shooting that happened Tuesday as the girls were boarding a school bus for home. Malala was targeted for speaking out about girls' education in Swat Valley in northwestern Pakistan, an area where Islamists who oppose schools for girls have much control.

The Taliban admitted to the shooting and authorities have offered a reward of $100,000 for the capture of the assailant. The Taliban says it's not done with Malala, according to Pakistan's Dawn newspaper, and has threatened her family and vowed to kill her.

"It's absolutely devastating," said Ayesha Siddiqa, a social scientist and defense analyst in Islamabad.

In 2009, Malala wrote a blog under a pseudonym about living under Taliban rule for the BBC in the Urdu language -- winning a national peace prize for her efforts.