Pakistani president pays a visit to 'remarkable' Malala in hospital

The President of Pakistan has visited a 15-year-old schoolgirl who is being treated in hospital in Britain after being shot in the head by a Taliban gunman.

President Asif Ali Zardari also met with the father and brothers of Malala Yousufzai during a private meeting at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital today.

In a statement issued after the visit, the hospital said President Zardari had been briefed by its medical director about Malala's progress and future treatment.

A statement released by the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust said:

During the visit, the hospital added, the president had thanked staff for their outstanding care and had described Malala as a "remarkable girl and a credit to Pakistan".

Malala suffered gunshot wounds when she was targeted by the Taliban as she travelled home from school with two classmates in north-west Pakistan.

The teenager, who was attacked after promoting the education of girls and criticising Taliban militants, was hit just above her left eye by a bullet which grazed the edge of her brain.