Karzai slams shooting of Pakistani girl Malala

ISLAMABAD - The Associated Press

Pakistani students hold pictures of Malala Yousufzai to give her support. REUTERS photo

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has written letters to top political and religious leaders in Pakistan denouncing the attack on Malala Yousufzai and asking them to help battle extremism in both countries, the president’s office said in a statement issued late Oct. 13. Karzai wrote that he views the shooting as an attack on Afghanistan’s girls as well. “It is a deplorable event that requires serious attention,” Karzai wrote.

The shooting of Malala Yousufzai along with two classmates on their way home from school on Oct. 9 was condemned in Pakistan and internationally. She was shot for promoting girl’s education and criticizing the Taliban.

Moves hands and feet

Yousufzai is being treated in a military hospital, where doctors removed a bullet from her neck. Doctors said she is making slow and steady progress. She moved her hands and feet, though she was still unconscious and on a ventilator.

Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates said it plans to send an aircraft to serve as an ambulance in case doctors decide to send her abroad for treatment, a Pakistani official said yesterday. Police have arrested at least three suspects in connection with the attack, but the two gunmen who carried out the shooting remain at large.