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When Pakistani officials ­triumphantly declared 10 Taliban thugs had been jailed over the attempted murder of brave Malala Yousafzai, it appeared justice had been done.

But the bold announcement has been exposed as a myth after it was revealed eight of the men were not convicted and their secret trial was a pathetic sham.

Only two of those accused of being behind the plot to assassinate the ­schoolgirl, who spoke out against Taliban oppression of female education, are serving the 25 years the authorities claimed the whole gang were given.

And insiders revealed one of the men acquitted and freed was said by police to be the murder bid’s mastermind.

A senior security source in Pakistan accused officials of lying over the trial and convictions and claimed the eight were released “quietly, to avoid a media fuss”.

The source added: “The trial had ­absolutely no credibility as nobody was there to witness it but a public prosecutor, a judge, the army and the accused.

“This was a tactic to get the media ­pressure away from the Malala case because the whole world wanted ­convictions for the crime.

“But the truth is that, whether these acquitted men were involved or not in the Malala shooting, the public has been lied to.

"Ten men are not behind bars for the crime, as the Pakistani authorities would have us believe. That is a big lie.”

Azaad Khan, the police chief of Swat Valley where Malala was shot in the head on her school bus on October 9, 2012, confirmed only two men, Izharullah and Israr ur Rehman, have been locked up over the cowardly attack.

The Mirror contacted him and said: “One of my sources from Haripur jail tells me...”

But he interrupted to declare: “It’s not a source, it’s a straightforward matter and there is no need to refer to a source. It’s about the two persons isn’t it?”

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He was told: “Sir, 10 persons were convicted.”

Mr Khan replied: “No, two were convicted and eight acquitted.”

But last month, Swat court officials insisted all 10 had been given a minimum of 25 years for their part in the Malala plot.

Authorities said they were found guilty of being part of the “planning and execution of the ­assassination attempt”.

The arrests in September last year and blaze of publicity surrounding the trial and sentences took the heat off claims Pakistan had done nothing to seek justice for Malala, who was 14 when singled out by Taliban gunmen.

Pakistani army chiefs said the men were held after the arrest of one led an ­intelligence team to the other suspects.

It is thought those who actually shot Malala, now 17 and living in Birmingham, fled to neighbouring Afghanistan after the assassination bid and are still at large.

According to Pakistani authorities the arrested men were tried behind closed doors by an anti-terrorism court in April.

We can reveal the hearing took place at Paitham, Swat.

But the ­Pakistan High Commission in London claimed the eight were acquitted because there was “not adequate evidence”.

And a source blamed a mix-up for the truth not coming out.

He said: “The claims of 10 being ­imprisoned were due to a ­misunderstanding and it being misreported at the time.”

Our investigation followed weeks of trying to trace the jailed men in various prisons throughout Khyber Punkhtunhwa Province.

Malala was targeted three years after starting a blog as an 11-year-old for the BBC on living under brutal Taliban ­oppression.

A US documentary had also revealed much of her life as the Pakistani military intervened in the region.

Malala became famous, giving i­nterviews in print and on television.

(Image: Reuters)

She was nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize by South African activist Desmond Tutu.

But the Taliban thugs took particular exception to her comments about the deliberate lack of education for girls.

A gang boarded her bus and demanded to know which pupil was Malala. One gunman fired three shots at her.

A bullet hit the left side of her forehead and then went into her shoulder.

In the days following the attack, Malala remained unconscious and in critical condition.

But she was ­transferred to Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital for intensive ­rehabilitation.

On October 12, Islamic clerics in ­Pakistan issued a fatwa against those who tried to murder Malala.

(Image: Philip Coburn/Daily Mirror)

But the ruthless Taliban reiterated their intent to kill the youngster and her father, Ziauddin.

It was followed by worldwide support for the girl, who showed extraordinary courage to stand up to the gunmen.

Former PM Gordon Brown launched a UN petition in her name, demanding all children globally be in school by the end of this year.

Malala won Pakistan’s first National Youth Peace Prize and also scooped the 2013 Sakharov Prize.

The same year she was awarded a Mirror Pride of Britain gong by David Beckham.

And last year, she became co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.