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Summary US administration has condemned the attack on Malala Yusufzai in Swat.
While responding to a question on the attack - which has left Malala fighting for her life - during a briefing Tuesday, the spokesperson of the US State Department, Victoria Nuland, termed the attack a barbaric and cowardly act. Malala Yusufzai was shot in the head during an attack in Swat earlier in the day.We strongly condemn the shooting of Malala. Directing violence at children is barbaric, it’s cowardly, and our hearts go out to her and the others who were wounded as well as their families, she said while talking about National Peace Award winner, Malala Yousufzai. Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack because of her stance against militancy.In a separate question regarding Pakistan’s Interior Minister, Rehman Maliks recent visit to Washington, she said that his meeting with Secretary Clinton was just for a couple of minutes to say hello. The minister, she said, was in the building for another meeting and there was nothing special that was dicsuseed in his interaction with Secretary Clinton.My understanding is that Interior Minister Malik was here to participate in the U.S.-Pakistan Law Enforcement and Counterterrorism Working Group, which is one of the working groups we have under our broader bilateral relationship. In the context of that, he had a chance to have a hello with the Secretary and a couple-minute conversation, but it wasn’t an extended bilateral meeting. So I don’t have any particular readout for you, she explained.When asked to confirm Rehman Maliks assertion that he raised Pakistans concern over use of drone strikes and how the US responsed to it, she declined to answer. I can’t confirm that one way or the other, but you know that I don’t talk about that particular subject from this podium, she said in a firm tone. The US officials are generally reluctant to talk about drones on-the-record as a matter of policy.- Contributed by Awais Saleem, Dunya News correspondent in Washington, DC
