Nobel Peace Laureate Malala Yousafzai, who hails from flood-hit regions, voiced sorrow over the cloudburst-driven disaster in northern Pakistan that has killed hundreds and displaced thousands in recent days.
“My heart breaks for every community affected by the devastating floods in Pakistan, from Gilgit Baltistan to Azad Jammu and Kashmir and especially Buner, Swat, Bajaur and Shangla in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” Malala wrote in a message posted on X.
The scenic Shangla district of Malakand Division is her hometown.
According to a PDMA report, Shangla reported 37 deaths, Mansehra 23, Swat 22, Bajaur 21, Battagram 15, Lower Dir five and a child drowned in Abbottabad.
Detailing infrastructure damage, the report said 11 houses were destroyed while 63 were partially damaged due to the floods. Two schools in Swat and another in Shangla were also affected.
“My deepest condolences to everyone who has lost loved ones, homes and livelihoods,” the Nobel laureate wrote in her heartfelt post.
Rescuers struggled to retrieve bodies from muddy debris on Saturday after flash floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains across northern Pakistan killed at least 344 people in the past 48 hours, authorities said.
The majority of deaths, 324, were reported in mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the National Disaster Management Authority said.
Most were killed in flash floods and collapsing houses, while at least 137 others were injured.
The provincial rescue agency told AFP that around 2,000 rescue workers were engaged in recovering bodies from the debris and carrying out relief operations in nine districts, where rain was still hampering efforts.
Malala, a staunch advocate for girls’ education, returned to her village, Barkana in Shangla, in March 2025, marking her first visit in 13 years since surviving an assassination attempt by militants.
This visit marked her first return to Shangla since surviving a shooting in 2012. She last visited Pakistan in 2018 but was unable to travel to her home village at the time.
Malala became a household name after she was attacked by the TTP militants on a school bus in the remote Swat valley in 2012.
She was evacuated to the United Kingdom and went on to become a global advocate for girls’ education and, at the age of 17, the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner.
