Malala 'has put Taliban on defensive', says Gordon Brown

A Pakistani Taliban leader has sent a letter to schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, 16, expressing shock that she was shot by Taliban gunmen last year.

The Taliban were universally condemned after gunmen shot Malala in the head.

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is the United Nations Special Envoy on Global Education, says Malala has clearly had a profound effect on the Taliban.

"It's taken her to put the Taliban completely on the defensive, and that's why they're issuing this statement now," he said.