Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai broke down in tears during an emotional return to her native Pakistan on Thursday, six years after she was shot in the head by Taliban gunmen for advocating greater education of girls.

Yousafzai, traveling with her father and younger brother, met Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in the capital, Islamabad, before giving a brief speech on national television.

It was Yousafzai’s first visit to her homeland since she was shot in late 2012 and airlifted abroad for medical treatment.

“For last five years I have dreamed that I can set foot in my country,” she said, wiping away tears

“It’s the happiest day of my life. I still can’t believe it’s happening,” added Yousafzai, clad in a traditional shalwar khameez outfit with her head covered with a red and blue duppata scarf.

She said that if it had been up to her, she would never have left Pakistan.

“I don’t normally cry ... I’m still 20 years old but I’ve seen so many things in life,” she said.

At the age of 17, in 2014, Yousafzai became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for her education advocacy. She also became a global symbol of the resilience of women in the face of repression.

Yousafzai spoke of the importance of education and about the efforts of her charitable foundation to help girls, often switching between English and the Pashto and Urdu languages.

“Welcome home,” Prime Minister Abbasi told Yousafzai.

“We are very happy that our daughter has come back. When she went away, she was a child of 12. She has returned as the most prominent citizen of Pakistan “

But she is unlikely to travel to her home region of Swat, in mountains northwest of Islamabad, due to security threats against her, a relative and security sources told Reuters.

“It’s been long-held desire of Malala Yousafzai and her parents to visit Swat and see her relatives and friends. But she was not given permission due to security concerns,” said one relative, who declined to be identified.

Earlier, Pakistan’s Geo TV showed footage of Yousafzai after she arrived at Islamabad airport, walking to a car escorted by security officials.