The Afghan woman, who became famous after she was featured on the cover of National Geographic magazine as a refugee child, will be deported to Afghanistan after serving a 15-day imprisonment and paying a penalty of 1,10,000 Pakistani rupees (approximately Rs 70,104), an special anti-corruption and immigration court in Peshawar ruled on Friday, Dawn reported. Sharbat Gula was hospitalised after she fell ill while she was in police custody. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nafees Zakaria told PTI that she was being treated at a healthcare centre in Peshawar.
Her lawyer, Mubashir, told the Pakistani daily that the Gula had pleaded guilty to all charges and had served about nine days of her 15-day prison sentence.
Zakaria, however, maintained that no harsh treatment was meted to her in custody, reported the Voice of America. "Let me reiterate that there has been no cruel action taken against her. The rightful legal course has been pursued in this case, and you will see the outcome shortly." He, however, did not divulge details of her medical condition. According to an earlier report by The Times of India, the mother of four is suffering from Hepatitis C.
Meanwhile, a special anti-corruption and immigration court has summoned Sharbat Gula on Friday. The Federal Investigation Agency had filed an interim chargesheet against her on November 1. An investigative official told Dawn that the chargesheet mentioned Gula has admitted her guilt during questioning.
Her hospitalisation comes a day after a Pakistani court rejected her bail plea. She was reportedly arrested for possessing a fraudulent Computerised National Identity Card and being in possession of both Pakistani and Afghan identity documents. Her bail application was rejected even though Pakistan's Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had said that that the administration wanted to penalise officials who had issued the fake documents. "They are the real culprits," he had said.
Pakistan has recently launched a drive against people with fraudulent identity cards. The country is currently home to an estimated three million Afghan refugees, most of whom are unregistered. The woman faces upto 14 years in prison.
The woman's photograph, captured by Steve McCurry at the Nasir Bagh refugee camp in Peshawar in 1984, won international acclaim and was compared to Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa painting. McCurry found her again in 2002. Her image had quickly become symbolic of the Soviet war in Afghanistan. After her arrest, McCurry had said on Instagram, "I am committed to doing anything and everything possible to provide legal and financial support for her and her family."
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