It has emerged that eight out of ten men reportedly jailed over the shooting of Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai were actually acquitted.

In April officials said all ten had been found guilty and sentenced to 25 years in jail.

Now a senior police official has said only two men were convicted in the trial, which was held behind closed doors.

The official, Salim Khan, said the eight men were freed. “The only reason for their release was lack of proof against them,” he said.

The shooting by the Pakistani Taliban of the young campaigner for girls’ education in 2012 made international headlines. Malala was shot in the head as she travelled home from school in Swat, northwest of the capital Islamabad. Two other girls were wounded. The militant group, having tried and failed to silence Malala’s opposition to it stance, called her an enemy of Islam.

The teenager was flown to Britain for treatment. Once recovered, she spread her message worldwide and jointly won the Nobel Peace P