Malala Yousafzai: Taliban shooting victim travels to UK

The BBC's Aleem Maqbool says Malala's treatment is likely to include some skull reconstruction

The 14-year-old Pakistani girl shot in the head by Taliban gunmen last week is being flown to the UK for medical treatment, the Pakistani army has said.

Malala Yousafzai has until now been at a military hospital in Rawalpindi, with doctors saying her progress over the next few days would be "critical".
The girl wrote a diary for the BBC about life under the Taliban, who accused her of "promoting secularism".
The UK said Malala's transfer followed London's offer to help her in any way.
Malala was taken to Islamabad and then left the country on board an air ambulance provided by the United Arab Emirates, accompanied by a full medical team.
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham - an NHS (National Health Service) hospital which has a specialist major trauma centre - confirmed that she would be treated there.
It was not immediately clear whether any of Malala's family were with her.
'Public revulsion' The Pakistani military said doctors in Rawalpindi has described Malala's condition as "optimal".

"I felt hurt on opening my wardrobe and seeing my uniform, school bag and geometry box. Boys' schools are opening tomorrow. But the Taliban have banned girls' education. ”

          Malala Yousafzai Diary entry, 8 February 2009

"The panel of doctors recommended that Malala be shifted abroad to a UK centre which has the capability to provide integrated care to children who have sustained severe injury," it said.

She is expected to need treatment to repair or replace damaged bones in her skull and to undergo neurological treatment.
The UK's Foreign Secretary William Hague said the attack on Malala and her friends "shocked Pakistan and the world" and that her bravery was "an example to us all".
"The public revulsion and condemnation of this cowardly attack shows that the people of Pakistan will not be beaten by terrorist," he said. "The UK stands shoulder to shoulder with Pakistan in its fight against terrorism."
Malala gained attention aged 11, when she started writing a diary for BBC Urdu about life under the Taliban.
Using the pen-name Gul Makai, she wrote about suffering caused by militants who had taken control of the Swat Valley in 2007 and ordered girls' schools to close.
She had previously received death threats from the Taliban and was attacked last Tuesday as she returned home from school in Mingora, north-western Swat.
Two armed men on foot stopped a van packed with about a dozen schoolgirls in a congested area of the town.
One of them got into the van and asked which of the girls was Malala Yousafzai before he fired three shots, hitting Malala in the head and injuring two others.
The Taliban has warned they will target Malala Yousafzai again.
UN petition The BBC's Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad says Malala has been kept sedated and on a ventilator since she was taken to hospital, with tight security around her.

The ventilator was removed briefly over the weekend to see how she coped and doctors have presumably determined she is well enough to travel, says our correspondent.

He adds that the brutal attack on a child has shocked people in Pakistan and around the world. Protests have been held in several Pakistani cities to condemn the Taliban's actions.
On Sunday, tens of thousands of people turned out in the city of Karachi to show their support.
Four people have been arrested in connection with the shooting. They were among about 100 people rounded up this week, most of whom were later released on bail.
On Monday, former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown - now the UN's Special Envoy for Global Education - said he was launching a petition in Malala's name "in support of what Malala fought for".
"The petition calls on Pakistan to ensure that every girl like Malala has the chance to go to school," he said, while also calling on the international community to ensure all children have access to education by the end of 2015.
Mr Brown said he would hand the petition to Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari when he visits Islamabad in November.