Teenage rights activist Malala Yousufzai, shot in the head during an assassination attempt by the Taliban, was today sent to Britain for treatment as she needs “prolonged medical care”, the Pakistani military said.
The 14-year-old, who has been in the intensive care unit of the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology since Thursday, was flown to Britain in an air ambulance provided by the United Arab Emirates, the statement said.
The decision to shift her outside Pakistan was made by a board of civil and military doctors that has been supervising Malala’s treatment.
She is being sent to a British centre that can provide “integrated care to children who have sustained severe injury“.
“It was agreed by the panel of Pakistani doctors and international experts that Malala will require prolonged care to fully recover from the physical and psychological effects of trauma that she has received,” the spokesman said.
“It is expected that in due course of time she will need repair (or) replacement of damaged bones of the skull and long-term rehabilitation including intensive neuro rehabilitation,” he said.
The “acute phase” of Malala’s recovery was managed in line with international standards and her current condition is “optimal”, he added.
Malala needs “prolonged medical care” and the decision to shift her to Britain was made “with the consent of Malala’s parents”, the statement said.
The government will bear all expenses for Malala’s treatment abroad, the military said.
The panel of doctors believed that if Malala was to be transferred abroad, then it “should be during this time window whilst her condition was optimal and before any unforeseen complications had set in”, the spokesman said.
Earlier in the morning, the air ambulance provided by the UAE landed in Rawalpindi and was stationed at the military airbase at Chaklala, located a short distance from the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology.
Yesterday, the doctors treating Malala had said that she was in a stable condition and making “steady and satisfactory progress’’.
She was successfully taken off the ventilator for a short while before being reconnected to “avoid fatigue”, officials said.
Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UAE Jamil Ahmed Khan said the royal family of the emirates had arranged the air ambulance for Malala. Visas were specially arranged for the aircraft’s crew and six doctors.
Malala has been on ventilator since she was shifted from Peshawar to the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology in Rawalpindi on Thursday after doctors removed a bullet lodged near her backbone.
She was shot in the head and neck.
The military spokesman said the neuro-surgery performed in Peshawar had saved Malala’s life. The specialised treatment she received at the hospital in Rawalpindi stabilised her condition, he said.
The banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack, saying Malala was targeted for backing Western ideals and a secular government.
The shooting of the teenager has been denounced round the world.
Pakistani authorities have offered a reward of Rs 1 crore for information that leads to the capture of Malala’s attackers.
People across Pakistan have been offering prayers for Malala’s recovery.