The Afghan woman known internationally as the “Afghan Girl,” thanks to her appearance on a famous National Geographic cover, has pleaded guilty to falsifying documents and illegally staying in Pakistan.
Sharbat Gula, now in her 40s, 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, her main lawyer Mubashir Nazar said. The fine of $1,100 has been paid, he added.
Gula — also known as Sharbat Bibi — was arrested in Peshawar last week. She was denied bail by the court Wednesday.
Speaking exclusively to CNN through an interpreter at the hospital where she is being treated for her illness, Gula said she is feeling better, but wants to go back to her hometown in Afghanistan. She said her children are currently in the care of the Afghan consulate.
She added that she has not been to Afghanistan since 2003.
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.”
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, Pakistan.
Last year, Gula was arrested on similar charges, but was later released.
Amnesty International 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.
Mounting pressure on refugees
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.
