Pakistan University Cancels Malala’s Book Launch Over Security Concerns

PESHAWAR – A Pakistani universityintending to hold a ceremonyto launch a book byteenage activist MalalaYousafzai, shot by the Taliban,called off the event over securityconcerns in the country’snorthwest on Tuesday, governmentand university officialssaid.Sarfraz Khan, director of theArea Study Center of theUniversity of Peshawar, said theceremony was to launch MalalaYousafzai’s book ” I am Malala.”But campus police told him tocancel the event due to safetyconcerns. “Last night, first theprovincial information ministerasked me on the phone to cancelthe ceremony. Then, myvice-chancellor informed methat the event should be cancelleddue to security reasons,”he said. The move angered theorganizers.”We had planned theevent to launch Malala’s book,but we were forced by police tocancel it,” said Khadim Hussain,an official at the Bacha KhanTrust charity, which had plannedthe ceremony. He accused theprovincial government of influencingthe university to call offthe event for political reasons.Shah Farman Khan, the informationminister in the capital ofKhyber Paktunkhwa province,insisted that the university calloff the event because hethought it was being organizedat an “improper place.”