* Muslim Council leader appreciative of medical help given to Malala Yousafzai in Britain

Farooq Murad, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, welcomed the arrival of Malala Yousafzai in Britain for treatment of her horrific injuries. She arrived on board an air ambulance provided by the United Arab Emirates and will receive expert medical care at the Queen Elizabeth acute hospital in Birmingham.

Farooq Murad said: “The horrific attack on Malala Yousafzai is to be condemned, and has rightly been done so by Pakistan’s responsible political and religious leaders. You don’t see such a unified response every day in a nation in turmoil from violence”. Our Prime Minister has correctly observed that "Pakistan is the biggest victim of terror in the world". Sinister groups are creating havoc in the country leading to such sinister events.

Muslim mosque congregations in Britain have been praying for the young girl’s recovery since the tragedy occurred on 9th October. Now that she is amongst us, our thoughts are even more so with her, her family and the other young girls injured in this criminal attack.

Malala’s case also tells us that violence, and political violence in particular, has been an everyday fact for Pakistanis. Each day we hear of an outrage: whether it be for sectarian, religious or political. This is compounded by the onset of US military drones that have cost the lives of so many innocent lives. All of this must stop. If we are to seek an effective strategy to ensure that Malala’s attackers do not prevail, we must all find ways to assist Pakistanis to take violence out of Pakistani politics and civil society.