UK, Pakistani ministers visit Pakistani teen activist in hospital

USPA News - Ministers from Britain, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday visited a 14-year-old Pakistani girl in a Birmingham hospital where she is being treated after being shot in the head by Taliban gunmen for advocating for girls` education and criticizing the militant group. Malala Yousafzai was shot by Taliban gunmen earlier this month while traveling to school in her hometown in Pakistan`s Swat Valley.

She received emergency treatment in Peshawar and Rawalpindi which allowed her condition to stabilize before being flown to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, which has the capability to provide integrated care to children who have sustained severe injuries. On Monday, Malala was visited by British Foreign Secretary William Hague, Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed, and Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik. They also met with David Rosser, the hospital`s medical director, and Zia Ud Din Yousafzai, the girl`s father. "We are profoundly grateful to the full multi-disciplinary team of medical staff at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, for all they are doing to help Malala recover from her appalling injuries," Hague said following his visit to the hospital. "I thanked Dr Rosser and his staff on behalf of the Prime Minister and our whole Government. I offered our support and sympathy to Mr Yousafzai and his family as they go through this ordeal, as well as our best wishes for Eid al-Adha." Malik said he visited the hospital to learn more about Malala`s recovery and to convey messages of good health and best wishes on behalf of the Pakistani government and its people. "We are grateful to the hospital authorities, especially the doctors treating Malala, for taking care of her in a most professional manner. As a result, she has made very good recovery in the past few days," he said. The Pakistani government previously said it would pay the full cost of the medical evacuation, the treatment under the UK`s National Health Service (NHS) system, and any ongoing rehabilitation. Two other schoolgirls were also shot during the Taliban attack, but neither were seriously injured.