Former President Asif Zardari pays glowing tributes to Malala

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PPP Co-Chairman former President Asif Ali Zardari has felicitated Malala Yousafzai and the people of Pakistan and said that by winning the Nobel Peace Prize Malala had made every Pakistani proud.

In a message the former President said that the award of Nobel Peace Prize is recognition of Malal’s courage in standing up to the bigot and narrow minded.

It is also a stinging rebuff to the extremists and militants who reject girls’ education and tormented Malala for seeking right to education for herself and for girls like herself.

This young, innocent, and courageous daughter of my country was attacked by forces of darkness only because she aspired for education. The people of Pakistan are grateful to God for having spared her life and also grateful to the international community for honoring her with the Nobel Peace Prize.

It demonstrates the resolve of the international community to support to the cause of education for girls everywhere particularly in Pakistan.

The award today is a reminder that the fight in Pakistan today is the battle between good and evil and between forces of light and the forces of darkness. The enlightened and the moderates are fated to win this battle against extremists, fanatics and the agents of death, destruction and ignorance.

Malala’s survival and the honor shown to her teach us that extremism can best be fought through collective action. The resolve to provide education to all, in particular to the millions of out-of-school girls is the best strategy to defeat extremism. Extremists are abusing the name of Islam in seeking to hamper our progress. They are doomed to be defeated. During the PPP government Pakistan took a giant leap when education for all girls and boys, between 5 to 16 years, was declared a fundamental right and a constitutional right. We have over 50 million school-age children but only about half of them go to school. The key challenge is access to education.

The Nobel Peace Prize to Malala strengthens national resolve to fight its battle against the bigots and fanatics with democracy, political commitment and support of the international community. It will be decisive in winning this existential war. It is a giant leap forward to put every Malala in school. Congratulations Malala Yousufzai.