UK to care for girl shot by Taliban (From Hampshire Chronicle)
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UK to care for girl shot by Taliban
2:45pm Monday 15th October 2012 in National News © Press Association 2013
Afghan students show their support for Malala Yousafzai, who was shot by a Taliban gunman last week (AP)
A Pakistani schoolgirl who was shot in the head by Taliban gunmen for speaking out about suffering under the regime is being brought to the UK for treatment.
Malala Yousafzai, 14, will receive specialist medical care at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.
The teenager was shot on a bus in front of her friends last Tuesday in what Foreign Secretary William Hague described as a "barbaric attack". Her life was saved by neurosurgeons in a Pakistani military hospital and she has since been in intensive care.
But doctors decided she needed "prolonged care" to help her recover from the physical and psychological effects of the attack.
Mr Hague said: "Malala's bravery in standing up for the right of all young girls in Pakistan to an education is an example to us all. Malala will now receive specialist medical care in an NHS hospital. Our thoughts remain with Malala and her family at this difficult time."
Malala was shot with two classmates as they made their way home from school in Swat, in north-west Pakistan. She was attacked by the Taliban for promoting the education of girls and criticising the militant group.
The teenager is being transferred to the UK for treatment by an air ambulance arranged by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Pakistani army said.
In a statement, the Pakistani authorities said: "The panel of doctors recommended that Malala be shifted abroad to a UK centre which has the capability to provide integrated care to children who have sustained severe injury.
"Pakistan has arranged with the UAE for a specially equipped air ambulance which will be used to transfer Malala to the UK. In order to provide continuity of care, an army intensive care specialist will accompany Malala on her flight.
"All expenses including transportation of Malala by specially equipped air ambulance and treatment abroad will be borne by the government of Pakistan."
