Bullet removed from Pak girl; Govt calls attack 'wake-up call'

Pakistani doctors today removed a bullet lodged near the spine of a 14-year-old girl shot by the Taliban, a horrific attack that drew grief and revulsion from across the nation and prompted the army chief to highlight the need to fight the propagators of "such barbaric mindset".

A team led by Mumtaz Khan, head of the neurosurgery department of Peshawar's Lady Reading Hospital, carried out a three-hour operation at a military hospital between 2 am and 5 am to remove the bullet from Malala Yousufzai, who was attacked by the Taliban yesterday for speaking out against the atrocities of militants.

The doctors also took steps to reduce the swelling in Malala's head. Though the bullet was removed, there was "excessive bleeding" during the surgery and Malala was not fully stable as yet, officials said.

Malala's uncle Ahmed Shah told the media in Peshawar that the doctors had advised against sending Malala, the first recipient of Pakistan's National Peace Award for Youth, outside the country for treatment.

Doctors said it would not be advisable for her to travel in her condition. The next ten days would be crucial for her, Shah quoted the doctors as saying.

Malala is currently in the intensive care unit of the military hospital in Peshawar.
People across Pakistan reacted with grief and revulsion to the attempt by the Taliban to assassinate Malala, with Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar saying that the incident should serve as a "wake up call" for the country.

Powerful Army Chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, who visited the schoolgirl in the hospital, said Malala has "become a symbol for the values that the army, with the nation behind it, is fighting to preserve for our future generations.

"These are the intrinsic values of an Islamic society, based on the principles of liberty, justice and equality of man."