Malala: Nobel Peace Prize winner says she has 'never been so happy' on returning home to where she was shot

'I've never been so excited. I'll return for good after Oxford'

An emotional Malala Yousafzai broke down in tears giving a talk in Pakistan (AP)

Malala Yousafzai, the youngest person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, said she had never been as elated about anything as returning to her home town for the first time since a Taliban militant shot her there in 2012.

“I had never been so excited for anything. I’ve never been so happy before,” she said after arriving in Pakistan‘s Swat Valley, flanked by heavy security in a helicopter provided by the country’s military.

Ms Youzafzai, 20, who is studying at Oxford University, admitted she had pined for home, often looking at Pakistan on the map, and said she had been waiting and hoping for her return for more than five years.

“It is still like a dream for me – am I among you? Is it a dream or reality?” she said.

She said she planned to permanently return to Pakistan after completing her studies in Britain.

Ms Yousafzai was targeted by a gunman six years ago for a blog she wrote for the BBC’s Urdu service that advocated girls’ education, and was then flown to Britain for surgery, remaining abroad ever since.

She tweeted her delight at seeing her home again, but admitted being puzzled by her critics who accuse her of promoting an ideology at odds with the country’s Islamic values.

A group of private schools in Pakistan declared Friday as “I Am Not Malala Day”, for her “anti-Islam and anti-Pakistan ideology”.

“I am proud of my religion, and I am proud of my country,” she said.

“I just don’t know anything I’ve said that makes me anti-Pakistan or anti-Islam. Islam has taught me the importance of peace. Islam has taught me the importance of education. The first word of Islam, or the first word of the Quaran, is ‘Iqra’ which means ‘read’.”

She talked about the Pakistani government’s commitment to education when she met prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. It was the government, along with the army, that helped arrange her trip.

“We did talk about education and I appreciated what he has done, but I think there is a lot more that needs to be done. The government promised 4 per cent of GDP for education but only so far has increased it to 2.7,” she said.

Ms Yousafzai’s father was a teacher in a school that educated girls and managed to stay open until early 2009 despite Taliban rule.

Recalling what life was like under the threat of the Taliban, she said: “I still remember each and every moment, right from the fear while sleeping at night that you might not be alive the next day,” she said. “The fear that if you are going to school, someone might stop you and throw acid in your face.”

After the Pakistani army drove out the Taliban that year, she became a symbol for girls’ education, and in 2014 was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, along with an Indian activist.

“I miss everything about Pakistan, right from the rivers, the mountains, to even the dirty streets and the garbage around our house, and my friends and how we used to have gossip and talk about our school life, to how we used to fight with our neighbours,” she said.

She had wanted to return before but, aside from security concerns, there was the hectic pace of school and her entrance exams to Oxford, where she began studying last year for a degree in politics, philosophy and economics.

Agencies contributed to this report.