London, Oct. 11: Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai has been declared the “pride of Pakistan” but some reactions back home have painted a very different picture.

The official reaction came from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif: “She is (the) pride of Pakistan. She has made her countrymen proud.”

But some reports appearing in the British media, based on Twitter and Facebook traffic and exchanges between Pakistanis in the UK and their friends and relatives back in Pakistan, create the impression that several people see the honour bestowed on her as “a plot” aimed at defaming their country.

The reaction, especially in the conservative sections of society, is, at best, ambivalent and often downright hostile.

In The Guardian, for example, a column by UK-based Shaista Aziz is headlined: “Malala made history but there is resentment not pride in Pakistan.”

She writes: “One frustrated father of a 9-year-old girl told me, ‘Sadly, people are not ready to accept that Malala is Pakistan’s pride. I strongly believe my daughter, like Malala, has got immense talent, capable of doing anything and achieving anything she wants, but I also strongly feel she is living in a wrong country.”

Shaista goes on: “Within an hour of Malala being announced the joint recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, I received a flurry of text messages from friends across Pakistan.”

Shaista writes: “One man sent me the following message, ‘She’s a fake, she never got shot in the head and there’s no such thing as the Taliban’.

“Another friend, a woman, messaged me, ‘I wish the world would stop talking about this girl. There are many Malala’s (sic) in Pakistan and all around the world — why don’t the Americans and British talk about those girls?’”

Shaista goes on: “I asked one Pakistani friend if she felt proud of Malala winning a Nobel. She responded, ‘This is a tricky question that isn’t easy to answer. It’s complicated’.”

“Pakistan’s relationship with Malala is indeed complicated,” is Shaista’s explanation. “It’s a relationship that speaks volumes about how the West is perceived here. Malala is a mirror through which Pakistani’s (sic) are forced to view themselves and a mirror that reflects back how much of the world views Pakistanis.

“An estimated 25 million school age children are missing an education in Pakistan — at least 13 million of them are girls,” readers are told.

In one blog, State of Denial, Chris Allbritton has a piece headlined: “Why So Many Pakistanis Hate Their Nobel Peace Prize Winner.”

“In the darker regions of the Pakistan social media space, reaction was as scornful as it was celebratory, with many dredging up old theories that Malala was a plot by American, Indian, or Israeli intelligence agencies to defame Pakistan,” notes Allbritton.

Malala did drown out sceptics with her poise and eloquence that sometimes went far beyond her 17 years and stood out in contrast with traits of perceived modesty in the subcontinent.

Yesterday, Malala had invited Prime Minister Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to the Nobel award ceremony in Stockholm.

Today, Indian co-winner Kailash Satyarthi told NDTV: “Malala’s request yesterday is a political and diplomatic issue…. I am nobody to invite the PMs of India and Pakistan…. I know my limits.”

Back in January, Malala’s ghosted autobiography, I am Malala, was due to be launched at Peshawar University, but the event was cancelled on the orders of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government.

A senior police officer said that allowing the ceremony to go ahead would have meant attracting Taliban attacks in the future. “Everyone knows that the Taliban are against Malala, so we do not want to open another front for ourselves,” the officer said.

However, some residents of Malala’s Pakistani hometown Mingora did summon the courage to praise her.

“This is a moment of great honour for us, and the people of Swat and the people of Pakistan,” Reuters quoted Tariq Khan, a medical official in Mingora, a small town in the picturesque Swat valley in northwestern Pakistan.

“I have sent all my daughters and granddaughters to school. Why would I be against Malala? Swatis are a very proud people who have always believed in education,” said Akal Zada, a restaurant owner.

“But now we are afraid. No one will say much because we don’t know who is listening. I support Malala’s mission but I admit this with fear. What if the Taliban come back and kill me for saying this? We are all very happy with Malala. But we are also very scared,” Zada added.

In the West, people were moved by images of Malala, barely clinging on to life, being wheeled into the Queen Elizabeth hospital in Birmingham two years ago and later by her dignified bearing and speeches.

Late last night, after Malala had given a media conference in Birmingham, now her home, US President Barack Obama said: “Michelle and I were proud to welcome this remarkable young woman to the Oval Office last year. We were awe-struck by her courage and filled with hope knowing this is only the beginning of her extraordinary efforts to make the world a better place.”

“At just 17 years old, Malala Yousafzai has inspired people around the world with her passion and determination to make sure girls everywhere can get an education,” Obama added.

“When the Taliban tried to silence her, Malala answered their brutality with strength and resolve.”