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Malala breaks down in tears in Pakistan five years on from Taliban attack

Joe Roberts for Metro.co.uk

Malala breaks down in tears returning to homeland five years on from Taliban attack
Malala Yousafzai cries as she delivers her first speech back in her homeland (Picture: Reuters)

Malala broke down in tears as she returned to Pakistan for the first time since being shot by the Taliban five years ago.

The 20-year-old Nobel laureate told an audience how she had longed to be back in Islamabad as she promoted her message of education for girls around the world.

In this picture taken on Thursday, March 29, 2018, U.S. troop's humvee passes vehicles of fighters from the U.S-backed Syrian Manbij Military Council on a road leading to the tense front line with Turkish-backed fighters, at Halawanji village, north of Manbij town, Syria. The front line has grown more tense in recent days as Turkey threatens to advance on the town to clear it of the U.S-backed fighters. U.S troops have increased their patrols in the area, local commanders say, to prevent an outbreak of fighting and to prevent Turkey from advancing on Manbij. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)Two US-led coalition personnel killed by ISIS IED blast in Syria

As the reality hit home, Malalas usual composure vanished.

Her lip quivered and she cupped her hands over her face to hide the tears.

I was always dreaming for the past five years, that I can come to my country, whenever I was traveling abroad, she said. Finally, I am here.

epa06635221 (FILE) - Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan delivers a statement after winning the Nobel Peace Prize in the Library of Birmingham in Birmingham, Britain, 10 October 2014 (reissued 29 March 2018). Malala Yousafzai was shot by Taliban militants in her hometown of Swat, Pakistan on 09 October 2012 in responce to her struggle for female education, which the Taliban banned after seizing control of the Swat valley. Malala Yousafzai is returning to Pakistan for the first time in 6 years and is expected to meet with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA
Malala has returned to Pakistan to promote her message of education for girls around the world (Picture: EPA)

Accompanied by her parents, Malalas four-day visit is heavily protected and shrouded in secrecy.

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In October 2012, Malala was shot in the head by a Taliban assassin who jumped inside her school bus and yelled, Who is Malala?

She was targeted for speaking out on education in her home of Mingora in the Swat Valley.

Since her attack and recovery, she started the Malala Fund, which has invested $6 million in schools, providing books and uniforms for schoolchildren.

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN - MARCH 29: (----EDITORIAL USE ONLY MANDATORY CREDIT - "PAKISTANI STATE MINISTER MARVI MEMON / HANDOUT" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS----) Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai (2nd L) and Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi (3rd L) pose for a photo in Islamabad, Pakistan on March 29, 2018. Yousafzai returned to Pakistan for the first time since being shot by Taliban militants in her hometown Swat in 2012. (Photo by Pakistani State Minister Marvi Memon / Handout/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Malala meets with Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi (Picture: Getty)

She became the youngest person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.

Her first meeting in Pakistan was with Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, with the government later touting her visit as a sign that violent militancy has been defeated in the Islamic nation.

Abbasi praised Malala for her sacrifices and activism. He said he was happy to welcome her home, where he said terrorism has been eliminated – a line often repeated despite persistent militant attacks in the country.

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Malala breaks down in tears in Pakistan five years on from Taliban attack

Joe Roberts for Metro.co.uk

Malala breaks down in tears returning to homeland five years on from Taliban attack
Malala Yousafzai cries as she delivers her first speech back in her homeland (Picture: Reuters)

Malala broke down in tears as she returned to Pakistan for the first time since being shot by the Taliban five years ago.

The 20-year-old Nobel laureate told an audience how she had longed to be back in Islamabad as she promoted her message of education for girls around the world.

In this picture taken on Thursday, March 29, 2018, U.S. troop's humvee passes vehicles of fighters from the U.S-backed Syrian Manbij Military Council on a road leading to the tense front line with Turkish-backed fighters, at Halawanji village, north of Manbij town, Syria. The front line has grown more tense in recent days as Turkey threatens to advance on the town to clear it of the U.S-backed fighters. U.S troops have increased their patrols in the area, local commanders say, to prevent an outbreak of fighting and to prevent Turkey from advancing on Manbij. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)Two US-led coalition personnel killed by ISIS IED blast in Syria

As the reality hit home, Malalas usual composure vanished.

Her lip quivered and she cupped her hands over her face to hide the tears.

I was always dreaming for the past five years, that I can come to my country, whenever I was traveling abroad, she said. Finally, I am here.

epa06635221 (FILE) - Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan delivers a statement after winning the Nobel Peace Prize in the Library of Birmingham in Birmingham, Britain, 10 October 2014 (reissued 29 March 2018). Malala Yousafzai was shot by Taliban militants in her hometown of Swat, Pakistan on 09 October 2012 in responce to her struggle for female education, which the Taliban banned after seizing control of the Swat valley. Malala Yousafzai is returning to Pakistan for the first time in 6 years and is expected to meet with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA
Malala has returned to Pakistan to promote her message of education for girls around the world (Picture: EPA)

Accompanied by her parents, Malalas four-day visit is heavily protected and shrouded in secrecy.

AdvertisementAdvertisement

In October 2012, Malala was shot in the head by a Taliban assassin who jumped inside her school bus and yelled, Who is Malala?

She was targeted for speaking out on education in her home of Mingora in the Swat Valley.

Since her attack and recovery, she started the Malala Fund, which has invested $6 million in schools, providing books and uniforms for schoolchildren.

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN - MARCH 29: (----EDITORIAL USE ONLY MANDATORY CREDIT - "PAKISTANI STATE MINISTER MARVI MEMON / HANDOUT" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS----) Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai (2nd L) and Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi (3rd L) pose for a photo in Islamabad, Pakistan on March 29, 2018. Yousafzai returned to Pakistan for the first time since being shot by Taliban militants in her hometown Swat in 2012. (Photo by Pakistani State Minister Marvi Memon / Handout/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Malala meets with Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi (Picture: Getty)

She became the youngest person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.

Her first meeting in Pakistan was with Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, with the government later touting her visit as a sign that violent militancy has been defeated in the Islamic nation.

Abbasi praised Malala for her sacrifices and activism. He said he was happy to welcome her home, where he said terrorism has been eliminated – a line often repeated despite persistent militant attacks in the country.

More: World

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