Malala returns to Pakistan after five years

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

“I have been dreaming about returning to my country and stepping on my soil since I left,”said malala.

Nobel Laureate Malala Yousufzai returned to Pakistan on a brief visit in the early hours of Thursday, five and half years after she was critically injured in a Taliban attack at her hometown Swat.

“I have been dreaming about returning to my country and stepping on my soil since I left. Today is the happiest day of my life,” a teary-eyed Ms. Yousufzai said at the Prime Minister’s Office where she was honored by the Premier and Cabinet members.

Accompanied by her father and younger brother, Ms. Yousufzai arrived past midnight at Islamabad Airport. She will remain in Pakistan for four days.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said Ms. Yousufzai is one of the most prominent Pakistanis in the world. “I would say we are honoured to have you back and hope that you return permanently. We will provide you all the security you need,” he said.

Ms. Yousufzai emphasised on the need for education in Pakistan. “I will work for improving education in my country, particularly girls’ education as women should stand on their feet,” she said.

Ms. Yousufzai along with her friends were attacked in the Swat Valley in 2012. She was shot in the head and face, butsurvived after she was taken to the U.K. in an air ambulance.

She was awarded Nobel Peace Prize in December 2014. She has established the Malala Foundation which works for promotion of girls’ education worldwide.