ISLAMABAD: Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai landed in Islamabad Saturday morning where she will attend an international summit on girls’ education hosted by Pakistan Government with a possibility to come face to face with a representative of Afghan government.
According to media reports, the two-day conference will start in the federal capital in which ministers from 44 Muslim countries and representatives of international organizations will participate and lay focus on girls education in Islamic nations.
Malala Yousafzai said Saturday she was “overwhelmed” to be back in her native Pakistan, as she arrived for a global summit on girls’ education. “I’m truly honoured, overwhelmed and happy to be back in Pakistan,” she told in the capital Islamabad.
Malala Yousafzai was evacuated from Pakistan in 2012 after being shot by the Pakistan Taliban, who were enraged by her activism, and she has returned to the country only a handful of times since.
“I am excited to join Muslim leaders from around the world for a critical conference on girls’ education,” Malala said on Friday in a post on social media platform X.
“On Sunday, I will speak about protecting rights for all girls to go to school, and why leaders must hold the Taliban accountable for their crimes against Afghan women & girls.”
Pakistan’s Education Minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui told AFP the Taliban government in Afghanistan has been invited to attend, although Islamabad has not received a response. “Nevertheless, representatives from various organisations dedicated to girls’ education in Afghanistan will be participating in the event,” he said.
Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls and women are banned from going to school and university.
