Next 48 hours critical for Pak's child activist Malala

Islamabad: Teenage rights activist Malala Yousufzai, shot in the head during an assassination attempt by the Taliban, continues to be on ventilator in a military hospital and the next 48 hours were critical for her recovery, a military spokesman said today. "According to neurosurgical and intensive care specialists, Malala's condition is satisfactory but the next […]

Islamabad: Teenage rights activist Malala Yousufzai, shot in the head during an assassination attempt by the Taliban, continues to be on ventilator in a military hospital and the next 48 hours were critical for her recovery, a military spokesman said today.

"On this auspicious Friday, the whole country is praying for her health. We pray to Allah for her speedy recovery," the chief military spokesman said.

Masood Kausar, the Governor of the northwestern Khyber- Pakhtunkhwa province, yesterday said that Malala was "not yet out of danger despite an improvement in her condition".

Reports have said she is yet to regain consciousness and that parts of her brain may have been damaged.

Authorities have put on hold plans to send Malala abroad for treatment after doctors said it would not be advisable for her to undertake a long journey.

The attack on the girl, who emerged as an unlikely champion of the rights of children by blogging about the atrocities of the Taliban in Swat in 2008, has been condemned by Pakistani and world leaders, including US President Barack Obama.