Pakistan's Taliban faction criticises awarding of Nobel Peace Prize to Malala ​Yousafzai

ISLAMABAD: A breakaway faction of Pakistan Taliban, whose militants had pumped bullets into her two years ago, has criticised the choice of Malala Yousafzai for the 2014 Nobel Peace prize, calling her "an agent of non-believers".

Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, which had separated from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in August, posted on microblogging website Twitter last night that Malala was being used by non-believers for propaganda.

"Malala speaks so much against guns and armed conflicts. Does she not know that founder of her recent Nobel award was the inventor of explosives," tweeted militant outfit spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan.

Jamaat-ul-Ahrar is controlled by Omar Khalid Khurasani who has been involved in several attacks at the security forces.

So far the TTP, led by fugitive rebel leader Mullah Fazlullah, has not commented on the achievement of Malala (17), who became an international celebrity after surviving a gun attack by Taliban in 2012 for advocating education for girls, despite repeated warnings by militants.

Malala was declared joint winner of the 2104 Nobel Peace prize yesterday alongwith India's Kailash Satyarthi, a child rights activist, whose NGO has been at the forefront of rescuing children from forced labour and trafficking.