Around 200 protesters took to the streets yesterday to denounce the Pakistani Taliban for shooting teenager Malala Yousafzai, known locally as “the diary girl.” Malala, 14, was singled out and shot by gunmen on Tuesday for blogging about life in the Swat Valley while it was occupied by the Taliban until 2009. With placards that said “I am Malala,” “stand with me or the Taliban” and “I was shot for wanting peace and education,” the demonstrators gathered in front of the Punjab assembly and chanted slogans against Taliban “murderers.” South Asia Partnership Pakistan (SAP), a group of regional development organizations, organized the two hour rally which concluded with the lighting of candles in front of giant posters of Malala, a children’s rights activist who had spoken out against the militants. “This is the ugliest face of ignorance, tyranny and extremism. The cowardly act of the militant Taliban has proved they do not spare innocent children,” said Farzana Mumtaz, media coordinator of SAP, in a press statement. “She caused wonder in the world with her progressive campaign in an impoverished locality. She has made the whole nation proud. She has become a symbol of women’s courage and the whole of society stands with her.” Meanwhile, surgeons released news of her condition after removing a bullet from near her spinal cord in a three-hour operation. “She will be kept in intensive care unit as the next 24 hours are critical,” said Doctor Mumtaz Khan at the Combined Military Hospital in Peshawar. Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan has offered to pay her medical expenses. Related reports: “They’ve gone too far:” fury after Taliban shoot girlBullet removed from Taliban victim aged 14