PESHAWAR, Oct 26: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa information minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain has said that government would provide full security to Malala Yousafzai and her family when they come back from United Kingdom.
Speaking at a press conference here on Friday, the minister left the decision to return to Pakistan or live abroad to Malala’s family. He said the government would not force the family to come back.
He said that government had offered security to Malala before the attack and was ready to provide the facility when she returns after treatment. He stated that Malala belonged to Swat and should live among her own people.
“We wish that Malala returns to Swat. But she herself will take the decision where she wants to live, Pakistan or abroad,” said Mian Iftikhar who returned from Birmingham on Thursday night after visiting Malala at Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The teenager who was shot in the head in Mingora is under treatment in UK.
He said that Malala might return to the country after two months when she gets fully recovered. He said that doctors briefed him about Malala’s health and added that she could write messages and walk without support. Her eyesight was also perfect, he said.
When asked that certain people had launched a campaign on social media and loaded pictures showing that Malala was slightly injured, the minister said that these elements could not tarnish her image through malicious propaganda.
He appreciated the Pakistani High Commission in London for extending all-out help to Malala. He said that terrorists had a strong network and they were spreading negative propaganda.
Replying to a question, Mian Iftikhar said that Pakistan and Afghanistan should stop the blame game and take action against Maulana Fazlullah and other terrorist groups. He said that both the countries should fulfil their responsibilities and eliminate terrorists. “Allegations and counter allegations are only facilitating the terrorists,” he maintained.
He condemned the bomb attack on Baacha Khan Markaz, the ANP’s central secretariat in Peshawar, and said that terrorists were trying to create fear among the citizens through such acts.
