1985 Nat'l. Geographic 'Afghan girl' arrested

waltky · Oct 27, 2016

Uncle Ferd thought she looked older...

National Geographic Afghan girl cover arrested in Pakistan
Thu, Oct 27, 2016 - An Afghan woman immortalized on a celebrated National Geographic magazine cover as a green-eyed 12-year-old girl was yesterday arrested for living in Pakistan on fraudulent identity papers.

The haunting image of Sharbat Gula, taken in a Pakistan refugee camp by photographer Steve McCurry, became the most famous cover image in the magazines history. She now faces up to 14 years in jail, a Pakistani official said. Gula was arrested by Pakistans Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for fraud following a two-year-long investigation in the northwestern city of Peshawar, the capital of the restive province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa bordering Afghanistan. FIA arrested Sharbat Gula, an Afghan woman, today for obtaining a fake ID card, said Shahid Ilyas, an official of the National Database Registration Authority (NADRA).

A handout photograph released by Pakistans Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) yesterday shows Afghan Sharbat Gula, the Afghan Girl who appeared on the cover of a 1985 edition of National Geographic magazine, ahead of a court hearing in Peshawar.

Ilyas said that FIA is also seeking three NADRA officials who were found responsible for issuing Pakistans national identity card to Gula, who have been at large since the fraud was detected. He said that Gula faces seven to 14 years prison time and fine between US$3,000 and US$5,000 if convicted by court over fraud. Pakistani officials say that Gula applied for a Pakistani identity card in Peshawar in April 2014 using the name Sharbat Bibi.

She was one of thousands of Afghan refugees who managed to dodge Pakistans computerized system and get an identity card. The original image of Gula was taken in 1984 in a refugee camp in northwest Pakistan at the time of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. McCurry later tracked her down, after a 17-year search, to a remote Afghan village in 2002 where she was married to a baker and the mother of three daughters.

Pakistan has launched a crackdown against those who have obtained fake ID cards fraudulently and launched a reverification campaign across the nation. Officials say NADRA has so far reverified 91 million ID cards and detected 60,675 cards by non-nationals fraudulently. A NADRA official said that 2,473 foreigners, mostly Afghans, had voluntarily surrendered ID cards that they obtained fraudulently. Some 18 officials of the authority were under investigation for issuing ID cards to foreigners and eight were arrested, the official said. More than 350,000 Afghan refugees have returned to their war-torn homeland from Pakistan this year, UN data show.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2016/10/27/2003658035
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juanvaldez · Oct 27, 2016

It appears that Pakistan doesn't tolerate illegal immigration.

waltky · Nov 3, 2016

Back inna day Uncle Ferd wanted to marry her but he couldn't figger out how to get a letter to Afghanistan...

Bail denied for 'Afghan Girl' accused of identification card forgery
Nov. 2, 2016 - Sharbat Gula is accused of carrying a forged Pakistani identification card.

Bail for the iconic "Afghan Girl," photographed in 1984 for the cover of National Geographic, was denied Wednesday in a Peshawar, Pakistan, court.

Sharbat Gula was arrested Oct. 26 for alleged forgery of a Pakistani identification card. Her lawyers said she has Hepatitis C and high blood pressure and needs care, is a widow and sole provider for her family, and was traveling to her native Afghanistan when she was arrested. They added she should be grant bail because the Pakistani government extended the terms of the voluntary return to Afghanistan by Afghan refugees to Oct. 31.

Known as "The Afghan Girl" and the "Mona Lisa of the Afghan War," Gula was a refugee fleeing Afghanistan during its occupation by the Soviet Union. She achieved a measure of fame when her photograph was published on the cover of the June 1985 issue of National Geographic.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-N...ion-card-forgery/6271478097194/?spt=sec&or=tn
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waltky · Nov 5, 2016

Granny says, "Dat's right - let her go home...

National Geographic's 'Afghan Girl': 'I want to go back to Afghanistan'
Fri November 4, 2016 - Subject of famous photograph pleads guilty to immigration charges; Sharbat Gula faces a short jail sentence and has paid a fine

The woman known as the "Afghan Girl" for her appearance on a 1984 National Geographic cover has pleaded guilty to charges of illegally staying in Pakistan -- and told CNN that she simply wants to return to her homeland. "I want to go back to Afghanistan, to my hometown," Sharbat Gula said, speaking exclusively to CNN at a hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan, where she was receiving treatment for a medical condition. "I (am) feeling better and (my) children are in the care of the Afghan consulate, and they will come visit me soon. I don't want to go anywhere but Afghanistan," she said, adding that she has not been back to Afghanistan for 13 years. Gula, whose striking green eyes in a National Geographic cover photo made her face known around the world, was 12 when photographer Steve McCurry captured his iconic image of her living in a refugee camp for Afghan nationals in Peshawar.

Sharbat Gula, known for the piercing green eyes of her famous National Geographic photograph, arrives at court on Friday.

Now in her 40s, she was arrested there last week for falsifying documents and illegally staying in Pakistan. She was sentenced to 15 days in jail and fined, her lawyer Mohsin Darwar, told CNN. She has already spent 11 days in jail and will be deported upon fulfilling the remainder of her sentence. The sentence took into account the fact she has Hepatitis C, the condition for which she is receiving treatment, according to Mubashir Nazar, another lawyer representing her. The fine of $1,100 has been paid, he added. Naseem Kakad, the Afghan consul general in Peshawar, said in a statement Friday: "We respect the rule of law and we have paid the fine. We will take her with great respect to Afghanistan on Monday."

Nephew: 'She never understood her fame'

Gula's nephew, Neimat Gul, told CNN that his aunt had never understood the attention she had received in response to the famous magazine cover. "She is very innocent. She never understood her fame, or the reason for it, which is why hasn't capitalized on it," he said. "Otherwise she would not be in situations like this." He said Gula had not been photographed since McCurry shot her a second time in 2002, for another National Geographic feature revisiting her story. Gul said this was because their family was "extremely conservative," and did not approve of women being photographed.

Mounting pressure on refugees

Amnesty International has condemned the decision to deport her, calling it a "grave injustice." "By sending her back to a country she hasn't seen in a generation and her children have never known, her plight has become emblematic of Pakistan's cruel treatment of Afghan refugees," said Champa Patel, Amnesty International's South Asia Director. Last year, Gula was arrested on similar charges, but was later released. Last week, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Afghanistan said it could not assist Gula as she was not a registered refugee. "Sharbat Gula falls under the 'undocumented migrants' umbrella," said Duniya Khan with the agency's Pakistan office. "The UNHCR cannot intervene since she is not a registered refugee." The International Organization for Migration (IOM), which assists undocumented migrants, says the arrest is symptomatic of mounting pressure on Afghan refugees in Pakistan to return home. "It is a sign of the times in Pakistan, that it has now reached someone who was something of a celebrity in the '80s, someone more high-profile than the average," said Nicholas Bishop, project development officer for the IOM in Afghanistan.

Human Rights Watch said since July 1, Pakistan has repatriated 370,000 Afghans, nearly 220,000 of them registered refugees. "They are joining more than 1 million internally displaced Afghans who are struggling to survive in a country still wracked by conflict and crushing poverty," the group said in a statement. Millions of Afghans have sought shelter in Pakistan over the years as their country became ravaged by conflict, HRW added.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/04/asia/afghan-girl-iconic-photo-pleads-guilty-trnd/
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waltky · Nov 9, 2016

Green-eyed lady goin' home...

Pakistan deports National Geographic's iconic 'Afghan Girl'
Nov 9,`16 -- Pakistan on Wednesday deported National Geographic's famed green-eyed "Afghan Girl" to her native Afghanistan after a regional court had convicted her on charges of carrying a forged Pakistani ID card and staying in the country illegally.

The case of Sharbat Gulla has drawn international attention and criticism of Pakistani authorities over their perceived harsh treatment of the iconic refugee. Gulla and her four children were handed over to Afghan authorities at the Torkham border crossing, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) northwest of the Pakistani city of Peshawar, before dawn Wednesday. Earlier, a visibly unhappy Gulla, clad in a blue, all-encompassing traditional women's burqa, and her children were taken from Peshawar to the border in a convoy, which included several Afghan officials, said a local government administrator Fayaz Khan.

At the crossing, Gulla turned once to look back at Pakistani territory and softly murmured good wishes for the people of Pakistan - her home of many years, according to two customs officials at the scene. The officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. Gulla was arrested in late October on charges of carrying fake Pakistani ID papers and staying in Pakistan illegally. A Peshawar court later ordered her deported. She gained international fame in 1984 as an Afghan refugee girl, after war photographer Steve McCurry's photograph of her, with piercing green eyes, was published on National Geographic's cover.

Pakistani officials escort famed Afghan woman Sharbat Gulla in a burqa or veil outside a court in Peshawar, Pakistan. A Pakistani government official says on Wednesday, Nov. 9, National Geographic's famed green-eyed "Afghan Girl" has been deported to Afghanistan. Fayaz Khan says Pakistani officials handed over Gulla and her four children to Afghan authorities early Wednesday at Torkham border, 60 kilometers (37 miles) northwest of Peshawar city

McCurry found her again in 2002. In 2014, she went into hiding after authorities accused her of buying fake Pakistani documents. Khan, the local official, said Gulla was to be flown to the Afghan capital of Kabul later in the day, where she was to attend a function in her honor hosted by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. Ghani's office did not immediately confirm that event was planned.

Peshawar provincial authorities had reportedly tried to find a legal way for Gulla to stay in the country on humanitarian grounds, but she declined the offer, according to Khan. After the Peshawar court sentenced her to 15 days in jail and a fine of $1,000, she fell ill and was admitted to at Peshawar's Lady Reading hospital. On Wednesday, the hospital staff presented Gulla a bouquet of red roses before bidding her farewell, said Dr Mukhtiar Zaman. He described Gulla as still being weak from her illness.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie...ME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-11-09-08-24-42
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waltky · Nov 9, 2016

Sharbat Gula gets to meet Ashraf Ghani...

'Afghan Girl' meets Afghan president after Pakistan deportation
Nov. 9, 2016 -- Ashraf Ghani, the president of Afghanistan, has met with Sharbat Gula, the subject of the "Afghan Girl" National Geographic cover, who was deported from Pakistan.

Pakistan handed over Gula and her four children to Afghan authorities at the shared border on Wednesday after she served a 15-day prison sentence. Gula pleaded guilty to living in Pakistan with fake identity documents. "Pleased to have welcomed Sharbat Gula and her family back to Afghanistan," Ghani wrote on Twitter. "Her life inspires us all. She represents all the brave women of this land."

Gula was arrested in Peshawar, Pakistan, in late October during an identity-card fraud investigation. In February of 2015, she'd been accused of using fake information to get a Pakistani Computerized National Identity Card.

In 1984, Steve McCurry photographed Gula for National Geographic. She was 12 years old at the time and living in a refugee camp near Peshawar after she and her relatives fled Afghanistan after a Soviet airstrike killed her parents during the 1979-1989 Soviet-Afghan War. In 2002, McCurry tracked down Gula in Pakistan and managed to take another photograph of her. Gula was also sentenced to pay a $1,100 fine.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-N...stan-deportation/4411478702236/?spt=sec&or=tn
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waltky · Nov 12, 2016

Green-eyed lady goin' to India for free medical treatment...

Sharbat Gula, Subject Of Iconic 'National Geographic' Photo, Will Travel To India
November 12, 2016 - Days after she was deported from Pakistan to her native Afghanistan, the woman whose piercing green-eyed stare landed a spot on the cover of National Geographic will next travel to India for medical care.

That's the news from Shaida Abdali, Afghanistan's ambassador to India, who said via Twitter that Sharbat Gula "will soon be in India for medical treatment free of cost."

Gula, who's in her 40s, suffers from hepatitis C, according to her lawyer and multiple news outlets. She's now poised to travel to Bangalore to receive treatment, according to Afghan news agency Khaama Press.

Afghan refugee Sharbat Gula (center) will get free medical care in India. She seen here arriving with her son at the Presidential Palace in Kabul before meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani

After fleeing Afghanistan as a young child, Gula spent decades in Pakistan before being arrested and charged with having falsified identity papers. When she arrived in Afghanistan Wednesday, she and her family were greeted by President Ashraf Ghani.

As Rebecca Hersher reported for the Two-Way earlier this week, "Under a plan announced in Brussels in October, potentially tens of thousands of Afghans will be sent to Afghanistan from the European Union so many people that the agreement notes both sides are considering whether to build a dedicated terminal for them all at Kabul International Airport."

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-...ational-geographic-photo-will-travel-to-india
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waltky · Jan 16, 2017

Granny says, "Dat's right - you go gurl!...

Afghan girl Sharbat Gula in quest for new life
Mon, 16 Jan 2017 - The Afghan woman made famous by a 1985 magazine cover tells the BBC of her hope for a new beginning.

An Afghan woman made famous by a 1985 National Geographic cover has spoken exclusively to the BBC of her hope for a new beginning, after being deported from Pakistan. Sharbat Gula now lives with her five-year-old son and three daughters in Kabul, where she says she wants to live a normal life after years of tragedy and hardship. Her portrait as a 10-year-old became an iconic image of Afghan refugees fleeing war. The only time she has spoken to the media before now, her family says, was for a 2002 documentary after Steve McCurry, who took her original photo, tracked her down in Pakistan and found out who she was. Sharbat Gula had no idea that her face had been famous around the world for almost seventeen years.

Sharbat Gula sits alongside the iconic image taken when she was a child refugee

Like many Afghans, she sought refuge in Pakistan and lived there for 35 years - but she was imprisoned and deported last autumn for obtaining Pakistani identity papers "illegally". "We had a good time there, had good neighbours, lived among our own Pashtun brothers. But I didn't expect that the Pakistani government would treat me like this at the end," Sharbat Gula told me at her temporary residence in Kabul. Her case highlighted the arbitrary arrest and forced deportation of Afghan refugees in the current spat between the two countries. It has been illegal for non-Pakistanis to have IDs since they were first issued in the 1970s, but the law was often not enforced.

Prison 'the hardest'

Now sick and frail in her mid-40s, Sharbat Gula's haunting eyes are still piercing, full of both fear and hope. She says she had already sold her house in Pakistan because she feared arrest there for "not having proper documents to stay". Two days before a planned move back to Afghanistan, her house was raided late in the evening and she was taken to prison. Pakistan's government has ordered all two million Afghan refugees on its soil to leave. Sharbat Gula believes the Pakistani authorities wanted to arrest her before she left. "I told the police that I have made this ID card for only two things - to educate my children and sell my house - which were not possible to do without the ID card."

She served a 15-day prison sentence, the first week in prison and the second in hospital where she was treated for hepatitis C. "This was the hardest and worst incident in my life." Realising the reputational damage, Pakistan later offered to let her stay - but she refused. "I told them that I am going to my country. I said: 'You allowed me here for 35 years, but at the end treated me like this.' It is enough." Her husband and eldest daughter died in Peshawar and are buried there. "If I wanted to go back, it will be just to offer prayer at the graves of my husband and daughter who are buried in front of the house we lived in."

The portrait
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1985 Nat'l. Geographic 'Afghan girl' arrested

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