Pakistan deports National Geographic’s iconic ‘Afghan Girl’
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — 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 kilometres (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.