Malala Yousafzai's father described joy at 'miraculous' recovery before flying to her bedside The story of Malala has captured the world's attention since she was shot three weeks ago. Her courage in standing up to Pakistan's Islamic extremists has offered a rare beacon of hope in a country blighted by sectarian killings. A gunman flagged down her school bus in the town of Mingora, Swat, and asked for her by name before shooting the teenage in the head. Two school friends were also wounded. The Pakistan Taliban, which controlled Swat until 2009, claimed responsibility. During that time, Malala had written an anonymous diary for the BBC detailing Taliban abuses and continued to campaign for girls education. Her family were threatened repeatedly by extremists for promoting "Western" and "secular" values. Surgeons in Pakistan fought for days to save her life, removing a bullet from her neck. Mr Yousafzai said he was grateful for all their efforts. "The way they saved my daughter was miraculous," he said. He added that he had stayed in daily contact with medical staff in Birmingham but was desperate to be at his daughter's bedside She is all right. She is improving day by day, insh'Allah," he said. The problem, he said, was that his wife's Pakistani documents were not up to date so they had to wait for the government to issue new ones. He also said that the Pakistan Taliban would not silence his family's campaign to ensure that more girls were able to go to school.