MNA terms Malala drama; she refuses allegations

Member of National Assembly Jamshed Dasti claimed that teen activist Malala Yousufzai’s meteoric rise to fame was nothing more than a drama orchestrated by the United States to disrupt the government’s efforts to initiate peace talks with the Taliban.

She, however, hit back at claims that she has become a figure of the West, insisting she was proud to be a Pakistan

Jamshed Dasti while talking to the media about Malala’s nomination for the Nobel Prize said the U.S. never wanted Pakistan to negotiate with the Taliban, and was using Malala to defame the Taliban and Islam.

Dasti concluded by saying the nation and the media should “stop this drama” and concern themselves with the real issues of Pakistan.

Malala, who was shot by the Taliban for championing girls’ right to an education, claimed she retained the support of people in her homeland, and reiterated her desire to enter Pakistani politics. 

The activist was shot in the head on her school bus on October 9 last year for speaking out against the Taliban.

Speaking in an interview she said, “My father says that education is neither Eastern nor Western. Education is education: it’s the right of everyone. The thing is that the people of Pakistan have supported me. They don’t think of me as Western. I am a daughter of Pakistan and I am proud that I am a Pakistani.”

She stated that she was shot, and on the next day, people raised the banners of ‘I am Malala rather ‘I am Taliban’.”

She was of the opinion that people support her and they are encouraging her to move forward and to continue her campaign for girls’ education.”

She highlighted the problem of education in the midst of the Syrian conflict saying, “We want to help every child in every country that we can. We will start from Pakistan and Afghanistan and Syria now, especially because they are suffering the most and they are on the top that need our help.”

The education activist further said she wanted to be a politician in Pakistan because she doesn’t want to be a politician in a country which is already developed.”

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=41930

Posted by Faisal Farooq on Oct 14 2013. Filed under National. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.