A senior Taliban commander has asked Pakistani girl activist Malala Yousafzai to return home, saying he regretted her shooting last year by militants.
In an open letter written to the teen, Adnan Rasheed described the attack as shocking, but at the same time did not apologize for it.
According to Fox News, Rasheed said that he wished the attack never happened.
Yousafzai, now 16, was shot at close range by Taliban gunmen in October for demanding education for girls.
According to the report, she was flown to Britain for treatment and has not returned since due to persistent Taliban threats against her.
Rasheed wrote that his emotions towards Malala were brotherly as they belonged to same Yousafzai tribe.
Rasheed, who has close relations with Taliban leaders, said the letter expressed his own opinion, not that of the group.
But a research director at the Federally Administered Tribal Area Research Center in Islamabad believes Rasheed's letter is a publicity stunt, the report added.