Malala inspires UAE to reject extremism

UAE Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan has called teenage schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai shot by the Taleban in Pakistan an inspiration for the UAE to reject extremism and intolerance.

Shaikh Abdullah visited Malala in Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where she is recuperating after the attack that shocked the world earlier this month.

UK Foreign Minister William Hague and Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik accompanied Shaikh Abdullah to visit the schoolgirl who was shot on the bus home from school, as punishment for campaigning for girls’ education.

Shaikh Abdullah said the people of the UAE were appalled by what had happened to Malala, which is why the country organised the air ambulance that transported her from Pakistan to the UK.

“Malala’s courage inspires us to reinforce our commitment to rejecting ideologies rooted in intolerance and extremism. By helping Malala, whose courage we applaud, the UAE is also voicing its firm belief in the right of girls to education everywhere,” he said.

Shaikh Abdullah also conveyed the best wishes of General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and said the 15-year-old was in the country’s prayers.

The ministers also met with Malala’s father.

Pakistan’s Malik said the country was grateful to the ‘excellent medical team’ at the hospital for what they had done for Malala.

Meanwhile, Britain’s Hague said the schoolgirl’s swift and full recovery was an “absolute priority”.

“The people of Pakistan have paid a high price from terrorism and extremism. We will stand by all those who, like Malala, are courageously defending the rights of women, in Pakistan and around the world.”

(With inputs from agencies)

amanda@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE