Bail Plea of NatGeo’s ‘Afghan Girl’ Rejected by Pakistani Court

Sharbat Gula faces up to 14 years in jail for forging identity papers.

The green-eyed ‘Afghan girl’ from the 1985 issue of National Geographic Magazine.

(Photo Courtesy: National Geographic)

The bail plea of National Geographic famed ‘Afghan Girl’ Sharbat Gula was rejected by a Pakistani court on Wednesday.

A week ago, she was arrested from her residence in Peshawar for allegedly forging identity papers. She has since been in the custody of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

She faces up to 14 years in jail. Gula’s arrest highlighted the plight of millions of Afghan refugees in Pakistan. Pakistan has for decades provided safe haven for millions of Afghans who fled their country after the Soviet invasion of 1979. It hosts more than 1 million registered Afghan refugees, according to UNHCR.

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on October 30 had indicated that Gula may be may soon be freed on humanitarian grounds.

(With inputs from PTI)