Malala, 15, was brought to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham on October 15 after gunmen shot her in the head as she travelled on a school bus in the northwestern district of Swat.

Her cranial reconstruction surgery will be carried out in late January or early February "as part of her long-term recovery", said a statement released by the Pakistani High Commission in London.

Dave Rosser, medical director at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, said Malala had "continued to make great progress in her treatment", according to the statement.

It emerged on Wednesday that Malala's father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, would become Pakistan's education attache at its consulate in Birmingham.

Yousafzai will initially undertake the role for three years, but could get a two-year extension as his daughter continues her recovery, the Pakistani government said.