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| In this photo released by Inter Services Public Relations Department, Pakistani army doctors and medical staff transport 14-year-old schoolgirl Malala Yousufzai, who was shot last Tuesday by the Taliban, to transfer her from a military hospital to the airport in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Monday, Oct. 15, 2012. Pakistan airlifted Yousufzai to the United Kingdom for treatment Monday, a move that will give her access to the specialized medical care she needs to recover and also protect her from follow-up attacks threatened by the militants |
BIRMINGHAM,
England (AP) -- A teenage Pakistani activist shot in the head by the
Taliban arrived in Britain on Monday to receive specialized medical
care and protection from follow-up attacks threatened by the militants.
Officials said she is stable and has a chance at "a good recovery."
The
attack on 14-year-old Malala Yousufzai as she was returning home from
school in Pakistan's northwest a week ago has horrified people across
the South Asian country and abroad. It has also sparked hope that the
Pakistani government would respond by intensifying its fight against the
Taliban and their allies.
Malala was targeted
by the Taliban for promoting girls' education and criticizing the
militant group's behavior when they took over the scenic Swat Valley
where she lived. Two of her classmates were also wounded in the attack
and are receiving treatment in Pakistan.
The Taliban have threatened to target Malala again until she is killed because she promotes "Western thinking."
Malala,
who had been receiving treatment at a Pakistani military hospital,
arrived at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham in central England on
Monday afternoon.
The hospital has a major
trauma center, specializing in treating severe gunshot wounds, major
head injuries and road accident victims. It is also home to the Royal
Center for Defense Medicine, the primary receiving unit for military
casualties returning from overseas, and has advanced equipment that
would help Malala's treatment, officials said.
"Malala had a comfortable journey and is stable," said Pakistan's High Commissioner to Britain, Wajid Shamsul Hasan.
Dave
Rosser, the hospital's medical director, said doctors believe Malala
"has a chance of making a good recovery" but added that he had not yet
seen the girl. He declined to provide details of her condition, citing
respect for her privacy.
Pakistan's military
had said a panel of doctors recommended that Malala be shifted to a
center in the United Kingdom that has the ability to provide
"integrated" care to children who have sustained severe injuries.
"It
was agreed by the panel of Pakistani doctors and international experts
that Malala will require prolonged care to fully recover from the
physical and psychological effects of trauma that she has received," the
military said in a statement.
Malala was
flown out of Pakistan on Monday morning in a specially equipped air
ambulance provided by the United Arab Emirates, the Pakistani military
said.
Video footage handed out by the military
showed Malala being wheeled out of the hospital on a stretcher, covered
in a white sheet and surrounded by uniformed army officers. She was
placed in the back of an ambulance and driven to the airport, where she
was put on a plane.
The plane stopped for
several hours in the Emirati capital of Abu Dhabi on the way to the
United Kingdom, said Pakistani Ambassador to the UAE Jamil Ahmed Khan.
The ambassador visited Malala during the stop and said she appeared to
be in stable condition. Her parents were not on the plane with her, he
said.
Pakistani doctors at a military hospital
earlier removed a bullet from Malala's body that entered her head and
headed toward her spine.
The military has
described her recovery as satisfactory and said she was able to move her
legs and hands several days ago when her sedatives were reduced. It has
not said whether she suffered any brain damage or other permanent
damage.
On Monday, the military said damaged
bones in Malala's skull will need to be repaired or replaced, and she
will need "intensive neuro rehabilitation." The decision to send the
girl abroad was taken in consultation with her family, and the Pakistani
government will pay for her treatment.
Pakistanis
have held rallies for Malala throughout the country, but most have only
numbered a few hundred people. The largest show of support by far
occurred Sunday when tens of thousands of people held a demonstration in
the southern port city of Karachi organized by the most powerful
political party in the city, the Muttahida Quami Movement.
"The
U.K. stands shoulder to shoulder with Pakistan in its fight against
terrorism," British Foreign Secretary William Hague said in a statement
sent to reporters. "Malala's bravery in standing up for the right of all
young girls in Pakistan to an education is an example to us all."
Late
Sunday night, more than 100 Taliban militants attacked a police station
in the small town of Matni, 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of the main
northwest city of Peshawar. The heavily armed militants killed six
policemen, including two who were beheaded, said police officer Ishrat
Yar.
The police engaged the militants in a
gunbattle that lasted for several hours, but the insurgents escaped
after burning the police station and four police vehicles, said Yar.
One
of the policemen who was beheaded was a senior official who commanded
several police stations in the area and was leading reinforcements
against the attack, said Yar. Another 12 policemen received gunshot
wounds.
A Pakistani Taliban spokesman,
Mohammad Afridi, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the
police were targeted because they had killed several militants.
The
Taliban have carried out hundreds of attacks throughout Pakistan but
the attacks rarely include such a high number of militants as in the
assault on the police station in Matni.
