Malala's parents now with their daughter

The parents of Pakistani teenage activist Malala Yousufzai joined her in Britain, where she is recovering after being shot in the head by a militant gunman. As the 15-year-old girl, acclaimed around the world for her bravery in opposing the Taliban and fighting for education for girls in her hometown in Pakistan's Swat Valley, made slow progress at a Birmingham hospital, Pakistani authorities looked for the main suspect in the attack, identified as 23-year-old identified Atta Ullah Khan, a master's degree student of chemistry who remained at large. Police have already arrested six other men in the Swat Valley in the Oct. 9 shooting of Malala and two other schoolgirls as they traveled in a school bus. The Pakistani Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack and vowed to kill Malala if she recovers because of her support of secular education. The other two girls were not believed to be seriously hurt. Pakistan's Dawn newspaper said Malala's parents, Ziauddin and Atoor Yousufzai, her brother and a relative flew to Birmingham, England, where Malala was taken Oct. 15 after doctors in Pakistan removed a bullet from her head. Malala's father, himself an ardent advocate of education, has expressed confidence his daughter would recover. There has been a huge outpouring of sympathy and support for Malala in her country and the Pakistani government has promised protection for her and her family. Dawn quoted a Thursday announcement from the medical team caring for Malala in Birmingham that she was comfortable and responding well to treatment. CNN said Malala has been unable to speak because of a tube put in her trachea to protect her airway. In an earlier report, CNN quoted the medical director at the Birmingham facility as saying Malala would need "a significant period of rest and recuperation" before undergoing reconstructive surgery. She is now able to move her extremities and stand up with help from nurses. "I am leaving this country with a heavy heart and in extraordinary circumstances because the whole country knows that it is essential that I be with my daughter during her recovery," Ziauddin Yousufzai told Pakistan's state television before leaving. "With the nation's prayers she survived the attack and she will surely recover and her health will progress. And, God willing, as soon as she is recovered, I will be back in Pakistan." "The mission she has taken forward and the education awareness that has spread across Pakistan is all Malala's doing," Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik said. CNN quoted Malik as saying Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari spoke to the family and assured the father he could stay in Britain as long as needed. In a message to her country, Malala thanked the citizens for their support and for honoring her courage, CNN said. The BBC reported Malala's father dismissed reports his family may seek asylum in the West because of threats by the Pakistani Taliban.