The Latest: Pakistanis welcome peace prize winner Malala

ISLAMABAD – The Latest on Malala Yousafzai's visit to Pakistan (all times local):

11:15 p.m.

Pakistanis are welcoming Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai on her return to her homeland for the first time since she was shot in 2012 by Taliban militants.

Cricketer-turned opposition leader Imran Khan's party said Thursday that Malala's return was a sign of the defeat of extremism in the country.

Mohammad Hassan, one of Malala's cousins in the northwestern town of Mingora, says it is one of the happiest days of his life. He says he is not sure whether Malala will visit her home town.

Marvi Memon, a senior leader of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League party, also welcomed Malala, saying it was a pleasant surprise for her to see Malala back home.

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8:20 a.m.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai has returned to Pakistan for the first time she was shot in 2012 by militants angered at her championing of education for girls.

Tight security greeted the now-20-year-old university student upon her arrival Thursday.

Local television showed her with her parents in the lounge at Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto International Airport, and she left in a convoy of nearly 15 vehicles, many of them occupied by heavily armed police.

She is to meet with Pakistan's prime minister later in the day.