Malala shifted to AFIC; still critical
12 October, 2012
PESHAWAR: Malala Yousufzai was flown to Rawalpindi on Thursday. The shooting of the 14-year-old girl on a school van in the Swat valley has been denounced worldwide and by the Pakistani authorities, who have offered a reward of more than $100,000 for the capture of her attackers. Two of her school friends were also injured in the attack, carried out as retribution for Malala's campaign for the right to an education during a two-year Taliban insurgency in Swat that the army claimed to have crushed in 2009. "Malala's health has improved," said neurosurgeon Dr Junaid before the girl was taken to a helicopter after a team of doctors examined her for two hours and later allowed officials to airlift her to Rawalpindi. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Masood Kausar told reporters at the military hospital after visiting Malala that her condition was improving. Sources said the medical board only allowed her transportation after inspecting the helicopter for all medical equipment. "She is on ventilator," Dr Junaid said. "The next six to seven days are important for Malala." He rubbished rumours that the condition of the girl had deteriorated. "There is no truth in these reports," he said. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government declared Friday as "Yaum-e-Dua" for Malala and urged people to pray for her early recovery. "Now she needs post surgery care. The doctors recommended that AFIC (Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology) has better facilities for post-surgery care," military spokesman Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa told AFP. Another official later confirmed she had arrived by helicopter in Rawalpindi. Gen Bajwa said Malala was still unconscious and that the next 24 hours would be crucial. On Wednesday, she underwent an operation to remove the bullet from between her shoulders in a military hospital in Peshawar. "She has been put on a ventilator for two days. The bullet has affected some part of the brain, but there is a 70 percent chance that she will survive," one of her doctors, Mumtaz Khan, told AFP. Mehmoodul Hasan, one of Malala's relatives, said the family had been told doctors were sending her medical reports abroad for advice. "They are checking if better facilities are available in the UK or Dubai or any other country," said Hasan. End.
|
