Malala visits hometown in Swat after five years

MINGORA: Malala Yousafzai, the youngest Nobel laureate, on Saturday visited her home in Swat district amid tight security after a gap of over five years.

Accompanied by her parents and Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb, she reached her native town Mingora in a helicopter from Islamabad on a short visit.

Malala met her neighbours, relatives, friends and former class-fellows. Finding herself among her people moved her to tears.

The 20-year old became emotional during her interaction with people she knew. She visited her home in Gulkada locality in Mingora.

Malala, a champion of girls’ education, also paid a visit to the cadet college in Gulibagh in Swat. She met the cadets and wrote her sentiments in the visitors’ book.

Strict security arrangements had been made for her landmark visit. It inconvenienced the local population as the roads leading to Gulkada were closed. Local journalists weren’t allowed to cover her visit.

The sealing of the roads prevented students from going to schools. Patients also faced difficulty in reaching hospitals.

It may be recalled that Malala was attacked by Taliban militants in Swat in 2012. She was going home in a van along with her schoolmates when the attack took place. The attack was claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

The injured Malala was airlifted to the Combined Military Hospital in Peshawar for emergency medical treatment. Later, she was shifted to Islamabad for treatment. Finally, she was flown to Birmingham in England to undergo further treatment as she had sustained life-threatening injuries.

Malala had showed exemplary courage at a time when the Taliban militants loyal to Maulana Fazlullah were calling the shots in the scenic Swat valley. The militants were driven out from Swat and rest of Malakand division in a massive military operation that saw the displacement of 2.3 million people.