Pakistan Police: Arrests Made in Child Activist Shooting
Pakistani protesters hold poster of 14-year-old schoolgirl Malala Yousufzai, who was shot Tuesday by the Taliban for speaking out in support of education for women, Karachi, Oct. 11, 2012.
Pakistani police have arrested several suspects in the shooting of a 14-year-old girl internationally recognized for documenting atrocities committed by the Taliban.
Officials say the arrests took place in the northwestern Swat Valley, where Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head and neck Tuesday by Taliban gunmen as she left school.
Few other details were released on the arrests.
Earlier Friday, a Pakistani military spokesman said Yousafzai is in "satisfactory" condition. Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa said the next few days will be critical in the recovery of Yousafzai, who remains unconscious and on a ventilator.
Rallies for Malala Yousafzai Grow
1/18An ambulance crew and their police escort await the arrival of an air ambulance carrying 14-year-old injured Pakistani girl, Malala Yousufzai, at Birmingham International airport in central England October 15, 2012.
The 14-year-old shot by the Taliban is flown to Britain for further medical treatment.
2/18The plane carrying Malala Yousufzai, the Pakistani girl shot in the head by Taliban gunmen, arrives at Birmingham airport, England October, 15, 2012.
The 14-year-old shot by the Taliban is flown to Britain for further medical treatment.
The 14-year-old shot by the Taliban is flown to Britain for further medical treatment.
4/18An ambulance transfers Malala Yousafzai upon her arrival in Birmingham, central England on October 15, 2012.
The 14-year-old shot by the Taliban is flown to Britain for further medical treatment.
5/18Malala Yousufzai is brought out of a hospital on a stretcher in Rawalpindi before being flown to the United Kingdom for medical treatment.
The 14-year-old shot by the Taliban is flown to Britain for further medical treatment.
6/18Nepalese students take part in a candlelight vigil to express their support for Malala Yousafzai, depicted in photograph at left, in Katmandu, Nepal, October 15, 2012.
The 14-year-old shot by the Taliban is flown to Britain for further medical treatment.
7/18Pakistani students sing as they hold pictures of Malala Yousufzai during a tribute at the Pakistani Embassy in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, October 15, 2012.
The 14-year-old shot by the Taliban is flown to Britain for further medical treatment.
8/18Pakistani schoolgirls pray for the recovery of Malala Yousufzai at their school yard in Gujranwala, Pakistan, October 15, 2012.
The 14-year-old shot by the Taliban is flown to Britain for further medical treatment.
9/18A supporter of Pakistani political party Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), reacts while holding a poster of Malala Yousufzai during a rally to condemn the attack in Karachi, Pakistan, October 14, 2012.
The 14-year-old shot by the Taliban is flown to Britain for further medical treatment.
10/18Supporters of Pakistani political party Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), attend a rally to condemn the attack on Malala Yousufzai, Karachi, Pakistan, October 14, 2012.
The 14-year-old shot by the Taliban is flown to Britain for further medical treatment.
11/18Pakistani Christians pray for the recovery of Malala Yousufzai at the Sacred Heart Cathedral Church in Lahore, Pakistan, October 14, 2012.
The 14-year-old shot by the Taliban is flown to Britain for further medical treatment.
12/18Women supporters of Pakistan Sunni Tehreek protest to condemn the attack on Malala Yousufzai, Islamabad, Pakistan, October 14, 2012.
The 14-year-old shot by the Taliban is flown to Britain for further medical treatment.
13/18Pakistani students pray for the recovery of Malala Yousafzai, who was shot by the Taliban for speaking out in support of education for women, in Peshawar, Pakistan, October 12, 2012.
The 14-year-old shot by the Taliban is flown to Britain for further medical treatment.
14/18Teachers recite verses from the Koran as they pray for the recovery of Malala Yousufzai, Peshawar, Pakistan, October 12, 2012.
The 14-year-old shot by the Taliban is flown to Britain for further medical treatment.
15/18Pakistani girls display a poster while sitting at their desk, as their teacher, not shown, talks to them about Malala Yousafzai, Islamabad, Pakistan, October 12, 2012.
The 14-year-old shot by the Taliban is flown to Britain for further medical treatment.
16/18Pakistani worshippers pray for the recovery of Malala Yousafzai during Friday prayers in a Mosque in Karachi, Pakistan, October 12, 2012.
The 14-year-old shot by the Taliban is flown to Britain for further medical treatment.
17/18Women hold candles during a rally condemning the attack on Malala Yousafzai, Karachi, Pakistan, October 11, 2012.
The 14-year-old shot by the Taliban is flown to Britain for further medical treatment.
18/18A student holds a placard with a picture of schoolgirl Malala Yousufzai.
The 14-year-old shot by the Taliban is flown to Britain for further medical treatment.
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A Taliban spokesman in the Swat Valley said Friday the group's leaders decided a few months ago to kill Yousafzai, and assigned gunmen to carry it out.
Pakistanis at mosques across the country prayed Friday for Yousafzai's recovery.
Yousafzai is being treated at the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology, Pakistan's top military hospital in Rawalpindi. Doctors say she has a 70 percent chance of surviving.
The Taliban says she was "pro-West," and that she denounced the militant group and called U.S. President Barack Obama her idol.
Yousafzai is renowned for documenting Taliban atrocities in the area near her home in Swat Valley, and for promoting education for women. She wrote under a pseudonym - Gul Makai - in a blog published by the BBC.
In her blog, Yousufzai described life under the Taliban in 2008 and 2009, when militants carried out beheadings and other violence in the territory they controlled, large areas of the Swat Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.
In Geneva Friday, a group of U.N. experts urged Pakistan's government to ensure that school children, particularly girls, are protected in the country, and that extremist groups do not prevent Pakistanis from realizing their human rights.
The experts said trying to assassinate a 14-year-old girl who is supporting the rights of girls to receive an education is a "shocking" attack on human rights defenders in Pakistan.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
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