Pakistan’s Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai yesterday visited her hometown for the first time since a Taliban militant shot her there in 2012 for advocating girls’ education.
Yousafzai and her family arrived in a helicopter provided by the Pakistani military, which took her to the town of Mingora in the Swat valley from Islamabad.
She had arrived in the capital before dawn on Thursday flanked by heavy security, and plans to return to England tomorrow.
Photo: AFP
Yousafzai, now 20, won international renown after she was shot by the Taliban in Mingora. She received initial treatment in Pakistan and later was taken to England for further care. She stayed on in the UK to continue her education and became the youngest person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.
Yousafzai yesterday entered her childhood home accompanied by her father, mother and brother. She sobbed upon entering the home where relatives, former classmates and friends had been anxiously waiting since morning to welcome her with flowers and hugs.
Youzafzai said she waited for the moment for more than five years and said she often looked at Pakistan on the map, hoping one day to return.
She said she plans to permanently return to Pakistan after completing her studies in the UK.
“It is still like a dream for me, am I among you? Is it a dream or reality,” she said.
Youzafsai later returned to Islamabad, where she met with human rights advocates.
Arooj Bibi, a neighbor, said she was happy to meet with Youzafzai, but was sad because her visit was so brief.
Yousafzai “lit the candle of education. God willing, there will be thousands of girls like Malala getting an education,” Bibi said.
Yousafzai also attended a gathering at the Pakistani army’s Cadet College in Swat.
Security had been visibly beefed up in Mingora the previous day.
The Pakistani Taliban had said after the attack on the then-14-year-old that they would target her again if they got the chance.
Yousafzai had asked authorities to allow her to go to Mingora and Shangla village in the Swat valley, where a school has been built by her Malala Fund.
CSBC Corp, Taiwan (台灣國際造船) yesterday released the first video documenting the submerged sea trials of Taiwan’s indigenous defense submarine prototype, the Hai Kun (海鯤), or Narwhal, showing underwater navigation and the launch of countermeasures. The footage shows the vessel’s first dive, steering and control system tests, and the raising and lowering of the periscope and antenna masts. It offered a rare look at the progress in the submarine’s sea acceptance tests. The Hai Kun carried out its first shallow-water diving trial late last month and has since completed four submerged tests, CSBC said. The newly released video compiles images recorded from Jan. 29 to
DETERRENCE EFFORTS: Washington and partners hope demonstrations of force would convince Beijing that military action against Taiwan would carry high costs The US is considering using HMAS Stirling in Western Australia as a forward base to strengthen its naval posture in a potential conflict with China, particularly over Taiwan, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. As part of its Indo-Pacific strategy, Washington plans to deploy up to four nuclear-powered submarines at Stirling starting in 2027, providing a base near potential hot spots such as Taiwan and the South China Sea. The move also aims to enhance military integration with Pacific allies under the Australia-UK-US trilateral security partnership, the report said. Currently, US submarines operate from Guam, but the island could
RESTRAINTS: Should China’s actions pose any threat to Taiwan’s security, economic or social systems, China would be excluded from major financial institutions, the bill says The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the PROTECT Taiwan Act, which states that Washington would exclude China from participating in major global financial organizations if its actions directly threaten Taiwan’s security. The bill, proposed by Republican Representative Frank Lucas, passed with 395 votes in favor and two against. It stipulates that if China’s actions pose any threat to Taiwan’s security, economic or social systems, the US would, “to the maximum extent practicable,” exclude Beijing from international financial institutions, including the G20, the Bank for International Settlements and the Financial Stability Board. The bill makes it clear that China must be prepared
Taiwanese trade negotiators told Washington that Taipei would not relocate 40 percent of its semiconductor production to the US, and that its most advanced technologies would remain in the nation, Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) said on Sunday. “I told the US side very clearly — that’s impossible,” Cheng, who led the negotiation team, said in an interview that aired on Sunday night on Chinese Television System. Cheng was referring to remarks last month by US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, in which he said his goal was to bring 40 percent of Taiwan’s chip supply chain to the US Taiwan’s almost
RSS