The eyes that haunted the world for ages has today been punished for being illegal and a refugee. Sharbat Gula an Afghan woman whose photograph was featured on the cover of the National Geographic in 1985 stunned the world with the appeal of humanity. Photographer Steve McCurry’s photograph of her in the refugee camp of war victims. After the picture was published she became the symbol of the Afghanistan war Victims and the Migration Process.
The same Sharbat Gula was arrested on Wednesday in Pakistan on charges of fake identity card and living in the country illegally by the Pakistan Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). Sharbat Gula migrated to Pakistan during Afghan war in 1984 and was living in Nasir Bagh.
According to sources, 1.5 million Afghans in Pakistan have received “proof of registration” cards, which protected them from deportation.
As reported by news agencies her arrest came in action after Pakistani authorities cracked down on Afghans with illegal national identity cards scam. The authorities said Ms. Gula had illegally obtained a Pakistani identity card in 1988 and a computerized identity card in 2014, while retaining her Afghan passport, which she used in 2014 to travel to Saudi Arabia for the hajj.
With the arrest currently, she faces up to 14 years in prison and a fine of $3,000 to $5,000 if convicted.
From past few months the Pakistani authorities have revoked or blocked thousands of national identity cards illegally obtained by foreigners. Ms. Gula, who is believed to be in her 40s, was caught up in that dragnet when she was arrested. A court said on Wednesday that she could be kept in custody for two days while the authorities investigated.
