In this undated image released by the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, on Friday Oct. 19, 2012, showing 15-year old Pakistani shooting victim Malala Yousufzai, who is recovering in Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England, after being attacked and shot in the head by Taliban gunmen in Pakistan for advocating education for girls. (AP Photo / University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust)

LONDON (AP) — The father of a 15-year-old Pakistani girl shot in the head by the Taliban says his daughter is recovering with encouraging speed.

Malala Yousufzai is recovering at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, where she was flown for treatment and protection from Taliban threats after she was shot on Oct. 9.

Her father, Ziauddin, flew to the U.K. to be by her side. He said Friday he had feared he would need to prepare for a funeral and called her recovery a miracle.

He expressed gratitude for prayers and well-wishes from all over the world, saying the outpouring showed his daughter is "the daughter of everybody."

He said his daughter, respected internationally as an activist for girls' education, "will rise again, she will stand again."

Associated Press
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