‘Happiest Day of My Life’: Malala in Tears on Return to Pakistan

It is Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai’s first visit to Pakistan since she was shot in 2012 by Taliban gunmen.

File photo of Malala Yousafzai.

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai broke down during an emotional return to her native Pakistan on Thursday, 29 March, six years after she was shot in the head by Taliban gunmen for advocating greater education of girls.

Yousafzai, travelling with her father and younger brother, met Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in the capital, Islamabad, before giving a brief speech on national television.

It was Yousafzai's first visit to her homeland since she was shot in late 2012 and airlifted abroad for medical treatment.

“For last five years I have dreamed that I can set foot in my country,” she said, wiping away tears. “It’s the happiest day of my life. I still can’t believe it’s happening,” added Yousafzai.

She said that if it had been up to her, she would never have left Pakistan.

"I don't normally cry... I'm still 20 years old but I've seen so many things in life", she said.

‘Welcome Home’: Pak PM to Malala

At the age of 17, in 2014, Yousafzai became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for her education advocacy.

Yousafzai spoke of the importance of education and about the efforts of her charitable foundation to help girls, often switching between English and the Pashto and Urdu languages.

"Welcome home," Prime Minister Abbasi told Yousafzai.

We are very happy that our daughter has come back. When she went away, she was a child... She has returned as the most prominent citizen of Pakistan. 

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Pakistan Prime Minister

But she is unlikely to travel to her home region of Swat, in mountains northwest of Islamabad, due to security threats against her, a relative and security sources told Reuters.

"It's been long-held desire of Malala Yousafzai and her parents to visit Swat and see her relatives and friends. But she was not given permission due to security concerns," said one relative, who declined to be identified.

In October 2012, masked gunmen stopped a bus taking Malala and other girls home from school and shot her. Two of her friends were also wounded.

Last week, on Twitter, Yousafzai, who lives in Britain and is studying at Oxford University, expressed a longing for her homeland.

Polarising Figure

Unable to return to Pakistan after her recovery, Yousafzai stayed in Britain, setting up the Malala Fund and supporting education advocacy groups with a focus on Pakistan, Nigeria, Jordan, Syria and Kenya.

During her trip to Pakistan, which is expected to last several days, Yousafzai will likely stay in Islamabad and meet friends and family at a hotel, her relatives said.

While she is arguably the most recognisable Pakistani in the world, Yousafzai – known almost universally as Malala – is a polarising figure at home.

She is frequently attacked by religious conservatives as portraying her country in a bad light and seeking fame.

But on the other hand, a private school headmaster in Swat, Ahmad Shah, said the region's people were eager to greet her.

Her visit had in fact removed all the rumours, as some people were saying she would never return to Pakistan again. I have noted that the girls in Swat and elsewhere in Pakistan see Malala as their own and believe that whatever she is doing is meant for them.

Ahmad Shah, private school headmaster in Swat

(This article was published in an arrangement with Reuters and has been edited for length.)