PESHAWAR, June 6: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Directorate of Prosecution has directed the investigator to record statement of Malala Yousafzai, who was shot by Taliban militants in Mingora, Swat district in October 2012.

Provincial director general (prosecution) Arif Khattak told reporters in his office here on Thursday that the statement of Malala Yousafzai, who was currently abroad with her family, would be recorded by modern electronic devices.

“The directorate has recently directed the investigation officer of the case to record Malala’s statement,” he said.

Mr Khattak said the investigation officer would also record supplementary statement of all witnesses for charging or nominating the absconding accused for commission of the offence.

Malala, the youngest nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize, is current in London. Members of her family have also moved there due to threat to their life.

Unidentified people opened fire at Malala in Mingora on Oct 9, 2012 when she was returning home from school in van. Two other girl students also suffered injuries in the attack.

Malala, whom bullets struck in the head and neck, was immediately taken to London for treatment.

Later, proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan later claimed responsibility for the attack. Officials said three suspects arrested in the case were released after preliminary investigations. The director general (prosecution) said the statement recorded by electronic devices was admissible in the court.

Asked if Malala’s statement will be recorded at the Pakistani High Commission or at her residence, he said the joint investigation team was to take a decision about it.

Mr Khattak said conviction rate in terrorism cases had increased due to steps taken by the prosecution office.

“Conviction rate in terrorism cases was three per cent in 2011 and five per cent in 2012 but it has increased to over 10 per cent in 2013. The rate of conviction in other cases, too, has witnessed a sharp increase,” he said.

The provincial director general (prosecution) said the anti-terrorism court recently convicted Waleed Akbar and Ikramullah for killing several people and injuring 120 by exploding bomb in an Ashura procession in Dera Ismail Khan last year.

“The increase in conviction rate is happening due to coordination and cooperation between the investigation and the prosecution, improvement in collection of evidence, and better liaison,” he said. Mr Khattak said the performance of public prosecutors was judged on individual basis and not collective basis and as a result, their performance had improved.

He said the Directorate of Prosecution was understaffed and needed more public prosecutors to ensure quality prosecution in the province.

“Currently, we have 262 public prosecutors and need 106 more,” he said.

The provincial director general (prosecution) said around 6,000 ‘weak’ cases were recommended to the court for disposal due to lack of evidence and that had reduced burden on the courts and benefited the general public.

He said the Directorate of Prosecution had established a research centre, recruited public prosecutors, increased charges of special public prosecutors and supporting staff, and closed coordination between district level public prosecutors and investigation cells, which had improved performance of the prosecution.