Pakistan deports green-eyed 'Afghan Girl'
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 8 November 2016 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Pakistan deports green-eyed 'Afghan Girl', 8 November 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5975a21c4.html [accessed 29 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
November 08, 2016
Pakistani security officials escort Sharbat Gula (center, in burqa), after a court hearing in Peshawar on November 4.
Pakistan has deported an Afghan woman whose 1985 photograph on the cover of National Geographic magazine became a symbol of Afghanistan during war in the 1980s.
Sharbat Gula, known as the green-eyed "Afghan girl," was driven to the Torkham border crossing by Pakistani officials and handed over to Afghan authorities late on November 8.
She had been arrested in Peshawar for living in Pakistan along with her four children on false documents.
Purported video footage of Gula, broadcast by Pakistan's Geo-TV on the night of November 8, showed a woman wearing an Afghan-style burqa in a car with Pakistani diplomats heading for the border.
Afghan officials said earlier that Gula was to be flown by helicopter from Torkham to Kabul where Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has planned to host a function in her honor.
The 40-year-old Gula's four children were deported from Pakistan earlier.
Ghani's office has announced that a house has been arranged in Kabul for Gula and her children to live.
With reporting by Reuters, Geo-TV, and Dawn
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
