Sharbat Gula gained international fame in 1984 after a photograph of her taken by war photographer Steve McCurry was published on the cover of National Geographic. McCurry found her again in 2002 in Afghanistan.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
October 26, 2016
Pakistani authorities have arrested National Geographic magazine’s famed green-eyed “Afghan Girl” for possessing a forged Pakistani identity card.
Sharbat Gula, who grew up in a Pakistani refugee camp and is now in her 40s, faces up to 14 years in prison if convicted of fraud.
Shahid Ilyas, an official from the Federal Investigation Agency, said police arrested Gula during a raid on October 26 at a home in the northwestern city of Peshawar.
Gula gained international fame in 1984 after a photograph of her taken by war photographer Steve McCurry was published on the cover of National Geographic. McCurry found her again in 2002 in Afghanistan.
Pakistan has recently cracked down on nonregistered Afghan refugees living in the country.
Pakistan hosts around 1.4 million registered Afghan refugees, according to the United Nations.
Based on reporting by AP and AFP