Pakistani child activist, Malala Yousafzai, sent to Britain for treatment

A Pakistani schoolgirl shot in the head by the Taliban because she campaigned for the right to education was being flown to Britain on Monday for specialist, long-term care, the military said.

Malala Yousafzai, 14, who was shot in the former Taliban stronghold of the Swat valley last Tuesday, was being sent abroad at a time when her condition is “optimal and before any unforeseen complications had set in”, it said.

Malala was being transported in a specialist air ambulance from the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan said an army intensive care specialist was accompanying her.

“Pakistan has arranged with the UAE for a specially equipped air ambulance to transfer Malala to the UK,” it said in a statement after the United Arab Emirates had told Pakistan it was ready to send the plane.

The shooting has been denounced worldwide and by Pakistan, which has said it will do everything possible to ensure that Malala makes a recovery, paying for her treatment, and offering more than US$100,000 for the capture of her attackers.

The cold-blooded murder attempt has sickened Pakistan, where Malala came to prominence with a blog for the BBC highlighting atrocities under the Taliban, who terrorised the Swat valley from 2007 until a 2009 army offensive.

Activists say the shooting should be a wake-up call to those who advocate appeasement with the Taliban. But analysts suspect there will be no significant change in a country that has sponsored radical Islam for decades.