Malala will return to Pakistan after treatment, vows father

Islamabad - The father of 15-year-old education campaigner Malala Yousufzai, who was shot by the Pakistani Taliban for advocating girls' right to education and is currently recuperating at a hospital in the United Kingdom, has vowed that his daughter will return to Pakistan after her medical treatment was over, dispelling the notion that his family would seek asylum abroad.

"I first laughed at it because all of our sacrifices, my personal (sacrifices), or this attack on my daughter, cannot have such a cheap purpose that we would go to some other country and live the rest of our life there," The Express Tribune quoted Malala's father Ziauddin Yousufzai, as saying.

Yousufzai spoke alongside Interior Minister Rehman Malik at the minister's Islamabad office. Malik promised that the government would protect Malala and her family upon their return.

Malala, who earned international fame for raising voice against Taliban oppression in Swat, was shot in the neck and head and two other girls sustained injuries when the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) opened fire on their school van in Swat valley on October 9.

Latest reports on Malala's condition suggest the teen icon is stable and on the path to recovery.

Information Minister of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Mian Iftikhar has said it will take Malala around two months to recover fully. He added that Malala's health was improving every passing day. Iftikhar, who had earlier met medics treating Malala at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, said the hospital was equipped with the most appropriate expertise and experience to treat the injured teenager.