Pakistani president visits Malala at hospital
Zardari meets teenage education activist in Birmingham hospital where she is recuperating after being shot by Taliban.
Asif Ali Zardari, the Pakistani president, has visited teenage education campaigner Malala Yousafzai in a UK hospital where she is convalescing after being shot by a Taliban gunman.
Zardari arrived at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham on Saturday after being briefed on her condition.
The 15-year-old schoolgirl was shot in the head at close range on October 9, as she was making her way home from school in the Swat valley in Pakistan.
She had since been flown over to Britain for specialist treatment.
The Pakistani president and his daughter Asifa Bhutto held a five minute private meeting with the teenager, her father and two brothers.
Malala is a “remarkable girl and a credit to Pakistan”, Zardari said in a brief statement issued by the hospital.
The teenage activist was doing well, according to the hospital, which had previously said she was recovering from fractures to her skull and jawbone.
Malala’s shooting has garnered worldwide media attention and world leaders have since pledged to support her campaign. More than 250,000 people have signed online petitions calling for a Nobel Peace Prize nomination for her activism.