Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai[/caption]The Pakistani army says it has arrested 10 militants who tried to kill teenage activist Malala Yousafzai two years ago.
Gunmen shot the teenager in the head in October 2012 in the town of Mingora for speaking out against the fanatics and promoting education for girls and women in her home region, the Swat Valley of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.
Army spokesman General Asim Saleem Bajwa told a news conference in the garrison city of Rawalpindi on Friday that the detainees attacked Yousafzai, then 16, on orders from Mullah Fazlullah, the head of the Pakistani Taliban.
The entire gang involved in the murder attempt... has been busted, he said, adding that the terrorists were part of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The military is currently carrying out a major operation against the militants in North Waziristan, a tribal region along the border with Afghanistan.
Bajwa noted that the group had a hitlist of 22 targets in addition to Malala, all ordered by the Mullah Fazlullah.
Malala was initially treated in Pakistan, but was later transferred to a hospital in the UK, where she now lives with her family.
Following the armys announcement, Malala's father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, issued a statement, saying that it was good news for his family and most importantly, for the people of Pakistan and the civilized world. This first step of apprehending Malala's attackers signifies the beginning of real hope for the hundreds of thousands of people whose lives have been affected by terrorism.
The TTP has threatened to try again to kill Malala if she ever comes back to Pakistan.
After the attack, she earned international admiration for her courageous and determined fight for all children to have the right to go to school.
She received the EU's Sakharov human rights prize last year and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
By Press TV
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