Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Wednesday said the key suspect involved in shooting 14-year-old Malala Yousufzai, Attaullah, and his aides had been arrested.
According to a BBC report, Malik said Attaullah had been arrested along with his fiancée.
Attaullah had crossed over from Afghanistan into Pakistan before making his way to Swat. There, he tracked down his target, intercepting Malala’s school van on October 9, 2012. He fled shortly after the assassination attempt.
Attaullah is a former Swat resident and was identified by police officials last week as the main suspect in the shooting incident.
Police said Attaullah had been studying for a Masters degree in chemistry prior to opting for militancy and had studied for his bachelors’ degree in physics at Jahanzeb College in Swat.
The interior minister said the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan had adopted a new strategy of carrying out attacks and were now teaming up with proclaimed offenders.
To a question, Malik said the demand of military operation in North Waziristan by citing the attack on Malala was inappropriate. He said a lot of factors needed to be considered while conducting a military operation in any area, including security of local population, timing, weather and handling of displaced masses.
The interior minister said the civil and military leadership would jointly decide about an operation in NWA. “We will make all our decisions in our national interest as they (US) do,” Malik said.
To a question regarding handing over of Maulana Fazlullah, Malik said the government had not only spoken to Afghan President Hamid Karzai, but a written application had also been sent out to the Afghan government.
However, he said the Afghan government had not yet responded.
Pakistan has requested Afghanistan to hand over Maulana Fazlullah, claiming he is involved in planning major attacks in Pakistan from across the border, including the attack on Malala Yousufzai.
About the worsening law and order in Karachi, Malik said such things happened in a city of 20 million.
Key suspect in Malala shooting, aides arrested: Malik
