MIRAMSHAH, Oct 7: The Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) said on Monday Malala Yousufzai had “no courage” and vowed to attack her again if they got the chance.

Gunmen sent by the Taliban tried to kill Malala on her school bus on Oct 9 last year.

She amazingly survived being shot in the head and has become a global ambassador for the right of all children to go to school.

But Shahidullah Shahid, spokesman for the TTP, criticised Malala and said they would try again to kill her.

“She is not a brave girl and has no courage. We will target her again and attack whenever we have a chance,” Mr Shahid told AFP.

In an interview with the BBC, Malala dismissed the threats against her life and repeated her desire to return to Pakistan from Britain, where she was flown for treatment after the attack.

She first rose to prominence during the Taliban’s 2007-9 rule in the Swat Valley with a blog for the BBC Urdu service chronicling the rigours of daily life under the Taliban.

The TTP spokesman said: “She even used a fake name of Gul Makai to write a diary. We attacked Malala because she was used to speak against Taliban and Islam and not because she was going to school.”—AFP