| Advertisement |
LONDON, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- The father of teenage education advocate Malala Yousafzai welcomed the news Friday that the men responsible for shooting his daughter in 2012 have been arrested. In a statement posted online by ABC News, Malala's father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, wrote:
Advertisement
"This is good news for our family and most importantly for the people of Pakistan and the civilized world. This first step of apprehending Malala's attackers signifies the beginning of real hope for the hundreds of thousands of people whose lives have been affected by terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunhwa, in Swat and the whole country. We greatly appreciate the efforts the security forces and police in bringing these men to justice and fighting for the restoration of peace. This is the beginning of the real restoration of the writ of government, where the rule of law and justice prevails for everybody."
Malala was attacked on October 9, 2012 as she returned home from school in Mingora, in the northwestern Swat District. She had become a target of the Taliban for her outspoken views on behalf of equal education rights for girls. Shot three times, she was in critical condition for days.
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Pakistani military announced Friday the "Shura" militant group that carried out the attack was led by Zafar Iqbal, a contact of TTP head Mullah Fazlullah. Security forces were able to identify the suspects with information provided by Israrur Rehman, one of the first militant group members to be arrested.
The arrested will be tried an a counter-terrorism court.
