Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai visited her hometown Barkana in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Shangla district on Wednesday, marking her first return since she was injured in an attack in 2012.
During her visit, Malala met with family members and offered prayers at her ancestral graveyard. She also visited her uncle, Ramazan, who recently underwent heart surgery in Islamabad.
According to Karora Police Station House Officer (SHO) Amjad Alam Khan, Malala arrived in Barkana by helicopter, accompanied by her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, and her husband, Asser Malik, whom she married in 2021.
Malala also visited the school and college she established in 2018, which provides free education to nearly 1,000 girls in the district. Previously, the area lacked an operational government girls’ college.
SHO Amjad Alam Khan stated that Malala interacted with students, inspected classrooms, and encouraged them to focus on their education to secure a better future. She assured that the Malala Fund would continue to provide quality education free of charge.
During her visit, Malala also stopped by the home of her maternal relative, Faiz Ahmad, where she met with family members.
Prominent education activist Shehzad Roy was also present on the occasion. He runs the Shangla Girls School and College under the Zindagi Trust and briefed Malala on educational projects and the progress of local students.
Malala Yousafzai’s visit is seen as a significant step in promoting education in the region and strengthening ties with the local community.