Taliban to Malala Yousafzai: Why we Shot you in the Head

A senior Taliban commander has sent a letter to Malala Yousafzai, explaining why she was shot in the head on her way home from school

The 16-year-old was shot in October after she spoke out about the Taliban not allowing girls to have an education in Pakistan.

After being treated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham for almost three months, Yousafzai was released.

The letter from Adnan Rasheed, a senior Taliban leader in Pakistan, said his opinion on her shooting does not reflect other members' views and appears to show remorse for the attempted murder.

Published by Channel 4 News, it reads: "First of all, please mind that Taliban never attacked you because of going to school or you were education lover, also please mind that Taliban or Mujahideen are not against the education of any men or women or girl.

"Taliban believe that you were intentionally writing against them and running a smearing campaign to malign their efforts to establish Islamic system in swat [the district where the shootings took place] and your writings were provocative."

Rasheed says he heard of Yousafzai through the BBC Urdu service when he was in prison: "My all emotions were brotherly for you because we belong to the same Yousafzai tribe," he said.

"When you were attacked it was shocking for me I wished it would never happened." He goes on to ask that if she was attacked for going to school, why have more girls not been on their "hit list", and that schools are blown up because they are used as hide outs for Taliban enemies.

"Now I come to the main point that is education. It is amazing that you are shouting for education, you and the UNO is pretending that as you were shot due to education, although this is not the reason ... your propaganda was the issue."

Commenting on Yousafzai's recent speech at the United Nations, he said: "You say Malala day is not your day it is the day of every person who has raised voice for their rights, I ask you why such a day is not assigned to Rachel Corrie, only because the bulldozer was Israeli?

"I ask you and be honest in reply, if you were shot by Americans in a drone attack, would world have ever heard updates on your medical status? Would you be called 'daughter of the nation'? Would the media make a fuss about you? Would general Kiyani have come to visit you and would the world media be constantly reporting on you? Would you be called to UN? Would a Malala day be announced?

"More than 300 innocent women and children have been killed in drone attacks but who cares because attackers are highly educated, non-violent, peaceful Americans.

"I advise you to come back home, adopt the Islamic and pushtoon culture, join any female Islamic madrassa near your home town, study and learn the book of Allah, use your pen for Islam and plight of Muslim ummah and reveal the conspiracy of tiny elite who want to enslave the whole humanity for their evil agendas in the name of new world order."

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