KARACHI: Pakistani Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai on Wednesday spoke to the family of Sabika Sheikh, the Pakistani student who was killed in a school shooting in the United States last week, via phone and extended her condolences over the tragic incident.
Malala told Sabika’s father, Abdul Aziz Sheikh, that every individual was aggrieved over Sabika’s death, adding that the nation had been deprived of a talented daughter.
The rights activist asked Sabika’s father and sister to consider her as their own daughter and sister, and that she equally shared their grief.
During the conversation, Aziz told the Nobel laureate that he wanted people to raise their voice against gun violence. At which, Malala assured him that she would fully back him on this issue.
Sabika was laid to rest in her hometown Karachi on Wednesday.
17-year-old Sabika was killed during the Santa Fe high school shooting on Friday, one of the 10 victims who were mostly students.
A resident of Karachi’s Gulshan-e-Iqbal locality, Sabika was studying in the US under the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) programme since August 21, 2017. She was due to return home in July.