Malala Yousafzai, a children rights activist and National Peace Award winner, was critically injured, along with another girl student, after a gunman fired upon her school van on Tuesday in Mingora town of district Swat.
Fourteen-year-old Yousafzai hails from Mingora and is known for her outstanding services for the promotion of girls’ education during the Taliban dominancy in the valley of Swat.
Police said a gunman opened fire on a school vehicle when Yousafzai along with other students came out from the school and boarded the van.
Reports said Yousafzai suffered gunshot wound to her head and throat and was immediately shifted to Sadu Sharif hospital in critical condition.
She gained notability for championing the cause of the people of Swat by blogging for the BBC under a pseudonym "Gul Makai." In her blogs‚ she highlighted the atrocities of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan.
For her courageous and outstanding services for the promotion of peace under extremely hostile conditions‚ she was conferred the first National Peace Award by the Pakistani government on 19 December 2011.
She was also nominated for International Children's Peace Prize by Kids Rights foundation.