Pakistani Taliban issues fresh threat to kill Malala Yousafzai

A young Pakistani teenager, Malala Yousafzai, known worldwide as the activist who was shot in the head by the Taliban, has been threatened with death once again by the Pakistan Taliban, reported Agence France-Presse on Monday.

Yousafzai, now 16, survived being shot in her left eye socket which left her with serious head wounds, while she was on her way to school last year.

Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid has issued a new death threat against the teenager who has written a book about her ordeal.

“She is not a brave girl and has no courage. We will target her again and attack whenever we have a chance,” said Shahid in a statement to AFP.

According to various media reports, Yousafzai was originally targeted by the Taliban due to her campaign for girls’ right to education.

She tells her story in her book titled “I am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban.”

A former Taliban commander wrote to her earlier this year explaining the Taliban’s stance on education.

“Please mind that Taliban or Mujahideen are not against the education of any men or women or girl,” the commander wrote in his letter.

“[The] Taliban believe that you were intentionally writing against them and running a smearing campaign to malign their efforts to establish Islamic system in Swat and your writings were provocative,” he added.

Yousafzai has been mentioned as a possible contender for the Nobel Peace Prize, results are due to be announced Friday.