By ANI
ANI







Kabul, Oct. 19 (ANI): Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said he hoped the shooting of Pakistani teen education campaigner Malala Yousufzai by the Taliban would convince Pakistan that "using extremism" as a tool against others was not in its interest.



Karzai regularly accuses Pakistan of supporting Taliban insurgents trying to topple his government - a charge that Islamabad vehemently denies.



"I hope this very bitter truth... has convinced our brothers and sisters, the officials in Pakistan... that using extremism as a tool against others is not in the interest of Pakistan," The Express Tribune quoted Karzai, as saying.



Malala, 14, who earned international fame for raising voice against Taliban oppression in Swat, was shot in the neck and head and two other girls sustained injuries when the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) opened fire on their school van in Swat valley last Tuesday.



The shooting of 14-year-old Malala, showed that Islamabad's strategy was hurting Pakistan too, he added.



Karzai called on Pakistan to join him in an "honest" fight against extremism, which he said was threatening both nations equally.



The Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan "has been the consequence of safe havens on Pakistani soil", said Karzai, describing extremism as a snake, which could turn and bite anyone who tried to use it against others.



Malala now remains in a hospital in the UK for specialized treatment. (ANI)