Afghan students to offer prayers for Malala Yousafzai

The Express Tribune

A day after the nation observed Yaum-e-Dua for an early and full recovery of Malala Yousafzai, the Afghan government has announced that prayers will be held across the country on Saturday (today) for the 14-year-old girl, the Afghan embassy said on Friday. The Afghan ministry of education announced that prayers will be offered for Malala in schools across Afghanistan, as Afghans were also shocked at the attack carried out by the Taliban. Shams Zardasht, the Afghan embassy spokesman, told The Express Tribune that in light of the brutal attack on her, the Afghan government has decided to express solidarity with the people of Pakistan and Malala’s family. He referred to the statement and the phone call from Afghan President Hamid Karzai to his Pakistani counterpart, Asif Ali Zardri on Wednesday, in which he strongly condemned the attack. The ministry added that prayers will be offered in nearly 15,500 schools across the country in special functions. Education Minister Farooq Wardag will visit a girls’ school in Kabul to mark the beginning of the functions, a ministry statement, which was sent to The Express Tribune, said. Wardag will join the students in their prayers for Malala, it added. It added that those against education had carried out the attack. Describing Malala as a hero who promotes education, the ministry stated her name would forever be remembered around the world. “Afghanistan, which has suffered from the destruction of its education system for years, now feels the pain of the attack on Malala. We are confident that such attacks will not hinder the promotion of education in Pakhtunkhwa and any other region,” the Afghan ministry claimed. It said the ministry viewed the attack on Malala and other students across the world as an assault on humanity. The Afghan Embassy in Islamabad also issued a statement to strongly condemn the attack. “The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Islamabad strongly condemns the cowardly attack on Malala Yousafza, girls’ education and rights activist from the Swat valley of Khyber- Pakhtunkhwa,” the embassy said. “Malala has very courageously raised her voice in a militancy hit environment against ignorance and strived for the very right of education for her fellow females,” the statement continued.