The group captured the Swat Valley in late 2007 and remained in de facto control until they were driven out by Pakistani military forces during an offensive in 2009. While in power they closed girls' schools, promulgated Islamic law and introduced measures such as banning the playing of music in cars. Malala Yousafzai's brother, Mubashir Hussain, told the BBC that the militants were "cruel, brutal people" and urged all Pakistanis to condemn them.
Pakistani politicians led by the president and prime minister condemned the shooting, which the US state department has called barbaric and cowardly.
President Asif Ali Zardari said the attack would not shake Pakistan's resolve to fight Islamist militants or the government's determination to support women's education. Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani visited Malala in hospital on Wednesday and said the Taliban had "failed to grasp that she is not only an individual, but an icon of courage".
