Nat Geo’s ‘Afghan Girl’ Not to Be Deported From Pakistan

Sharbat Gula was arrested for holding a fake Pakistani identity card.

Sharbat Gula, the famed ‘Afghan Girl’ was arrested for holding a fake Pakistani identity card. She has denied the charges. (Photo: AP)

Nat Geo's famed ‘Afghan Girl’ Sharbat Gula will not be deported from Pakistan, a Pakistani government official Shaukat Yousafzai reportedly said on Sunday.

The decision was taken on humanitarian grounds and as a goodwill gesture towards Afghanistan.

A Pakistani court had earlier ordered the deportation of Sharbat Gula, immortalised in a haunting picture on the June 1985 cover of the magazine, after she pleaded guilty to charges of staying in Peshawar with fake ID cards.

A special anti-corruption and immigration court in Peshawar ordered Gula's deportation to Afghanistan after serving a 15-day jail sentence besides slapping a fine of Rs 1,10,000 which was paid later.

Gula was arrested by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on 26 October from Peshawar for alleged forgery of a Pakistani Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC).

‘Free From Legal Troubles’

(Photo Courtesy: National Geographic)

The court issued the verdict after the accused pleaded guilty to the charges, Gula’s lawyer Mubashir Khan said.

“She has served about nine days in jail already and will remain imprisoned for six more to complete her sentence,” he said. She will be deported after completion of her sentence, he added.

The court was informed during the hearing that Gula was a widow and the sole breadwinner of family. She was suffering from Hepatitis C and had been hospitalised after falling ill while in custody.

Omar Zakhilwal, Afghanistan's ambassador to Pakistan, posted to his Facebook page that Gula was “free from all the legal troubles.”

The post further said: “She soon will also be free from an uncertain life of a refugee as she will be on her way back to her own country as soon as next Monday where she still is a beloved image and a national icon.”

(With inputs from PTI, AP and IANS)