Gordon Brown is to urge Pakistan's leaders to use the Taliban shooting of a 14-year-old activist as a catalyst to speed up education reforms.
The former prime minister hailed Malala Yousafzai as "an icon for courage and hope" as it was announced he would lead an international delegation to the country next month.
In his role as the United Nations special envoy for global education, Mr Brown said he was "determined that her shooting produces much more than just the talk of change".
The schoolgirl – who remains in a critical condition in hospital after surgeons removed a bullet from her head – has become a national hero amid global condemnation of the attempt on her life.
She was shot in the head and neck as she left school on Tuesday, for speaking out against the militants and promoting the right of girls to go to school.
Mr Brown said: "I have asked Pakistan's president [Asif Ali] Zardari to pledge that Malala's suffering will not be in vain.
"In response, he has invited me to lead a delegation of education leaders to visit him in Pakistan in November to talk about how he can improve opportunities for children.
"As Malala Yousafzai's name is broadcast across the world as an icon for courage and hope, I am determined that her shooting produces much more than just the talk of change."
In recent talks, Mr Zardari agreed there should be a plan to get the five million Pakistani girls and boys presently not schooled into education.
There would be global support if the country moved "further and faster to achieve education for all", he said he had told senior ministers.
That could include the expansion of a UK-supported project in the Punjab, he suggested.
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