Islamabad, Oct 14: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has written a letter to the parents of Pakistani teenaged rights activist Malala Yousufzai, lauding Malala as a “role model not only for your country, but for our world”.
Ban handed over the letter, addressed to Malala's parents, to Pakistan's permanent representative to the UN, Masood Khan, the Daily Times reported.
Ban said he had already issued a strong statement condemning the Pakistani Taliban's “cowardly act” of shooting the 14-year-old girl.
”Malala is a role model not only for your country, but for our world,” the secretary-general wrote in his letter.
He said education was a fundamental right for everybody, and that the UN was partnering with the people of Pakistan in their struggle to promote education.
Ambassador Masood Khan said the Pakistani leadership and the entire nation had condemned the abominable act against Malala.
”The whole nation is united against this kind of obscurantism. Malala has been an icon of education for girls and an inspiration for the international community,” Khan was quoted as saying.
The Pakistani envoy informed the UN chief that the Pakistan government was committed to the promotion and protection of human rights, including the right to education.
