Story highlights
- "We have sufficient evidence to find the culprits," police chief says
- Injured schoolmate: "I want to tell all the girls to continue their mission to get an education,"
- Malala Yousufzai is hospitalized in England a week after the Taliban attack on her
- Pakistan's interior minister says the 14-year-old's school will be named after her
On October 9, a Pakistani schoolgirl who dared to speak out against the Taliban took a bullet to the head for her act of defiance.
Now, as Malala Yousufzai lies in a hospital bed in Birmingham, England, the shock and outrage among her countrymen have given way to a new sentiment: What will the government do about this?
While the Pakistani news media debate how the country should respond to the attack, thousands of people nationwide have joined in rallies in support of the wounded 14-year-old.
The shooting has prompted an unusually strong and united reaction of disgust and anger among many Pakistanis, analysts say.
"There is a groundswell of sympathy for her and also a very strong demand for the Pakistani state to do something about this issue," said Raza Rumi, director of policy and programs at the Jinnah Institute, a Pakistani research organization.
Photos: Photos: Supporters rally behind Malala
Photos: Photos: Supporters rally behind Malala
Supporters rally behind Malala – Pakistani Christians attend a prayer service for the recovery of teen activist Malala Yousufzai in Lahore on Sunday, November 11, 2012. Pakistan celebrated Malala Day on Saturday as part of a global day of support for the teenager shot by the Taliban.
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Photos: Photos: Supporters rally behind Malala
Supporters rally behind Malala – Pakistani Christians attend a prayer service in Lahore on Sunday. Malala, 15, went from an intensive care unit in Pakistan, showing no signs of consciousness, to walking, writing, reading and smiling in a hospital in the UK.
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Photos: Photos: Supporters rally behind Malala
Supporters rally behind Malala – Pakistani supporters hold photographs of Malala as they stand alongside burning candles during a ceremony to mark Malala Day in Karachi on Saturday, November 10, 2012. The teen activist was shot in the head by the Taliban as she rode home from school in a van last month. She had defied the militant group by insisting on the right of girls to go to school. The attack has stirred outrage in Pakistan and around the world.
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Photos: Photos: Supporters rally behind Malala
Supporters rally behind Malala – Pakistani students shout slogans near photographs of Malala in Karachi on Saturday.
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Photos: Photos: Supporters rally behind Malala
Supporters rally behind Malala – A Pakistani girl carries a photograph of Malala in Karachi to mark Malala Day.
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Photos: Photos: Supporters rally behind Malala
Supporters rally behind Malala – Pakistani students attend a Malala Day ceremony in Lahore on Saturday.
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Photos: Photos: Supporters rally behind Malala
Supporters rally behind Malala – A Pakistani student in Lahore writes a message on a placard on Saturday.
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Photos: Photos: Supporters rally behind Malala
Supporters rally behind Malala – Indian teachers add finishing touches to a "Malala Rangoli" at a high school in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
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Photos: Photos: Supporters rally behind Malala
Supporters rally behind Malala – Malala sits up in her hospital bed with her father, Ziauddin, and her two younger brothers, Atal Khan, right, and Khushal Khan on Friday, October 26, 2012, at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham in Birmingham, England.
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Photos: Photos: Supporters rally behind Malala
Supporters rally behind Malala – Pakistani human rights activists light candles during a Sunday, October 21, 2012, vigil for Malala Yousufzai in Lahore.
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Photos: Photos: Supporters rally behind Malala
Supporters rally behind Malala – Students at the Sacred Heart Cathedral School in Lahore attend special prayers on Friday, October 19, 2012, for Malala's recovery.
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Photos: Photos: Supporters rally behind Malala
Supporters rally behind Malala – Campaigners gather Friday for a vigil for Malala in Birmingham, England.
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Photos: Photos: Supporters rally behind Malala
Supporters rally behind Malala – An activist with the Association for the Advancement of Feminism lights candles during a vigil in Hong Kong on Friday.
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Photos: Photos: Supporters rally behind Malala
Supporters rally behind Malala – Activists light candles during Friday's vigil in Hong Kong.
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Photos: Photos: Supporters rally behind Malala
Supporters rally behind Malala – Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik puts final touches on a sand sculpture in honor of Malala at Puri Beach, India, on Tuesday, October 16.
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Photos: Photos: Supporters rally behind Malala
Supporters rally behind Malala – Pakistani demonstrators chant slogans during a protest against the assassination attempt by the Taliban on Tuesday in Islamabad, Pakistan.
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Photos: Photos: Supporters rally behind Malala
Supporters rally behind Malala – Pakistani activists of the Islamic Sunni Tehreek party carry flags at a rally in Islamabad on Sunday, October 14, 2012.
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Photos: Photos: Supporters rally behind Malala
Supporters rally behind Malala – Veiled Pakistani women participate in Sunday's rally.
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Photos: Photos: Supporters rally behind Malala
Supporters rally behind Malala – Supporters of a Pakistani political party, Muttahida Quami Movement, gather during a protest procession for Malala in Karachi, Pakistan.
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Photos: Photos: Supporters rally behind Malala
Supporters rally behind Malala – Pakistani leaders of the movement sit in front of a poster of Malala at a procession in Karachi.
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Photos: Photos: Supporters rally behind Malala
Supporters rally behind Malala – A Pakistani youth places an oil lamp next to a photograph of teen activist Malala Yousufzai on Friday, October 12, 2012, in Karachi, Pakistan.
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Photos: Photos: Supporters rally behind Malala
Supporters rally behind Malala – Pakistani school girls pray for the recovery of teen activist Malala Yousufzai at their school in Peshawar.
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Photos: Photos: Supporters rally behind Malala
Supporters rally behind Malala – Pakistani hospital workers carry Malala on a stretcher at a hospital following the attack on Tuesday, October 9, 2012. Malala was shot in the head while riding home in a school van in the Taliban-heavy Swat Valley, officials said.
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Photos: Photos: Supporters rally behind Malala
Supporters rally behind Malala – Supporters hold portraits of Malala as they pray for her well-being in Karachi, Pakistan in 2012. Malala gained fame for blogging about how girls should have rights in Pakistan, including the right to learn.
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Photos: Photos: Supporters rally behind Malala
Supporters rally behind Malala – A Pakistani Muslim prays for Malala during Friday prayers in Karachi. Malala, whose writing earned her Pakistan's first National Peace Prize, also encouraged young people to take a stand against the Taliban -- and to not hide in their bedrooms.
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Photos: Photos: Supporters rally behind Malala
Supporters rally behind Malala – Supporters place candles to pay tribute to Malala in Islamabad on Wednesday.
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Photos: Photos: Supporters rally behind Malala
Supporters rally behind Malala – A Pakistani female activist holds a photograph of Malala and prays for her recovery in Islamabad on Saturday.
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Photos: Photos: Supporters rally behind Malala
Supporters rally behind Malala – Pakistani students pray for Malala at a school in Mingora on Thursday.
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Photos: Photos: Supporters rally behind Malala
=Supporters rally behind Malala – Pakistani Muslims bow their heads and pray for Malala during Friday prayers in Karachi.
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Photos: Photos: Supporters rally behind Malala
Supporters rally behind Malala – Pakistani school girls pray for the Malala's recovery. Over the weekend, the teen moved her limbs after doctors "reduced sedation to make a clinical assessment," military spokesman Maj. Gen. Asim Bajwa said.
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Photos: Photos: Supporters rally behind Malala
Supporters rally behind Malala – A Pakistani female covers her face during prayers in Karachi.
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Photos: Photos: Supporters rally behind Malala
Supporters rally behind Malala – Pakistani civil society activists carry banners in Islamabad on Wednesday as they shout ant-Taliban slogans during a protest against the assassination attempt.
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Photos: Photos: Supporters rally behind Malala
Supporters rally behind Malala – Children of Pakistani journalists and civil society activists light candles in Islamabad.
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Photos: Photos: Supporters rally behind Malala
Supporters rally behind Malala – Pakistani Christians attend a mass prayer for the recovery of Malala at Fatima Church in Islamabad.
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Supporters rally behind Malala – Pakistani Christians attend a mass praying for the recovery of Malala at a church in Lahore.
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Pakistanis outraged by Taliban attack 02:10
$1 million bounty for Malala attackers 11:08
Gupta: Malala responses are positive 01:59
General describes attack on Malala 02:36
Much of the discontent is directed toward the Pakistani Taliban, the extremist group that has claimed responsibility for the shooting and said it will seek to kill Malala if she recovers from her injuries.
"This has created a very bad feeling for the Taliban," said Saleem Khan, an executive with a paper manufacturing company in the city of Lahore.
Khan said he was "crying and weeping" after hearing of the attack on Malala, who had defied extremists in the northwestern Swat Valley by insisting on the right of girls to go to school.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, the first woman to hold that job, said Sunday that she thinks the shooting marked a "turning point" in the ferocity of how Pakistan goes after Taliban offenders and extremist groups.
"Pakistan, at the diplomatic, political and every level, has been asking ... to take this matter seriously, to not let them (the Taliban) have a safe haven," she said.
Meanwhile, police in Birmingham said "two well-wishers" were stopped when they came to the hospital overnight wanting to see the girl. No arrests were made, contrary to earlier reports from the hospital.
Hospital director Dave Rosser said the intruders were "probably people being over-curious," but he added that the hospital is taking no chances and that tight security is in place.
At a rally organized by the powerful MQM political party in Karachi, thousands of people gathered, some waving flags and banners with messages of support for Malala. "Our prayers are with you," read one. Another said, "Malala -- (an) attack on you is an attack on education and progress."
Social activist Saman Jafery said: "If Taliban is a mindset, then Malala is a mindset, too. It's a mindset of educated and empowered women."
Another of those at the rally, Haider Rizvi, said people "don't want the Taliban anymore in Pakistan, and after the Malala incident, it is time for people to stand up."
"The message is right here ... all these people. They are condemning the act of the Taliban," added student Ashwar Waqi.
The Taliban, who operate in northwestern Pakistan along the border with Afghanistan, have fallen foul of Pakistani public opinion in the past, notably in 2009, when a video emerged of the flogging of a teenage girl in the Swat Valley.
The video provoked appalled reactions in Pakistan at the time, but "the scale of protests for Malala are bigger," said the Jinnah Institute's Rumi. "Even the right-wing mainstream media have expressed outrage."
The Taliban became increasingly unpopular among Pakistanis in 2009 as the military carried out an offensive against members of the group in northwestern areas.
But the military operations failed to root them out altogether, and their continued influence in the region was demonstrated last week by the gun attack on Malala and two other girls as they were being driven home from school. The two other girls were less severely wounded than Malala.
One of them, Kainat Ahmed, is being treated locally. She said she was so scared after the attack on the bus in which they traveled that she couldn't sleep for two days. The 16-year-old girl is in the 10th grade.
But despite the injury to her arm and the terror of the attack, Ahmed said she does not regret studying and hopes to continue.
"Girls' education here is more important than boys' because boys can have any jobs they want to but girls cannot," she said. "I want to tell all the girls to continue their mission to get an education."
Interior Minister Rehman Malik, visiting the three girls' school in the town of Mingora on Tuesday, said the name would be changed from "Khushal Public School" to "Malala Public High School."
A task force will be established to protect all girls' schools in the region that are under threat of militants, he told reporters.
"I am not only grieved, the whole nation is grieved," he said. The hunt for those responsible has made "considerable progress," Malik added, although he gave few details of the investigation.
Authorities have forensic evidence, Malik said.
Police Chief Gul Afzal Afridi of the Swat District said that 60 suspects are being detained, interrogated or investigated.
"We have sufficient evidence to find the culprits," the chief said. "Soon we will catch them."
Politicians and commentators in Pakistan have slammed the attack. But the condemnation of the Taliban has not been as universal.
"Everybody was angry that it happened, but not everybody was angry with the Taliban," said Tazeen Javed, an Islamabad-based communications consultant who writes for The Express Tribune newspaper.
The cricket star-turned-politician Imran Khan, who visited Malala in a hospital in Peshawar last week, has drawn criticism for not condemning the Taliban outright for the attack.
Khan "showed a lot of concern but couldn't resist bringing in the issue of the drone strikes as a cause for this attack, which was a bit of a deflection," said Rumi, referring to the drone attacks carried out by the United States in northwestern Pakistan that have generated resentment in the country.
Certain commentators have also begun to question the official version of events, suggesting that the attack on Malala may be used as a pretext by the government for military action against the Taliban in the restive tribal region of North Waziristan.
"The Malala incident is the CIA's latest attempt to divide public opinion and incite conflict in Pakistani society," Haider Mehdi, a contributor to the Pakistani daily The Nation, wrote in a column Tuesday.
As the controversy about the attack rages in Pakistan, the doctors treating Malala thousands of miles away said they are "very pleased" with her progress and optimistic that she will make a good recovery.
However, she faces reconstructive surgery and there is "still a long way to go," said Rosser, of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.
Her family is not yet in England to be by her bedside, but the Pakistani high commissioner is making arrangements on that front, he said.
In the meantime, the 14-year-old appears to be "every bit as strong as we had been led to believe," Rosser said, adding that the consultant leading her care "is impressed by her resilience and her strength."
