Famous Afghan Girl on National Geographic Cover Arrested in Pakistan

The Afghan woman whose photo at age 12 with green eyes became an enduring symbol after appearing on the cover of National Geographic has been arrested in Pakistan for possessing fake identification documents. The photograph taken by Steve McCurry in the 1980s of 'Sharbat Gula' in a refugee camp in Peshawar became the most famous cover in the magazine's history. According to AFP, her arrest highlights the increasing pressure from Pakistani police on foreigners without residency permits, as many Afghan migrants are willing to resort to desperate measures to avoid returning to their war-torn country. Officials from Pakistan's Central Investigation Agency arrested Sharbat Gula after a two-year investigation into her and her husband, who is now a fugitive. A spokesperson for the agency added that they are now working to arrest three employees from the National Documents Office who issued fake documents for this Afghan woman. According to this official, if convicted, Sharbat Gula could face 14 years in prison and a fine between three to five thousand dollars. However, in reality, it is unlikely she will be sentenced to such a long imprisonment. Many Afghans convicted of similar crimes have been repatriated to Afghanistan before serving their prison terms. Local officials say this woman applied for Pakistani identification under the name Sharbat Bibi in April 2014 in Peshawar. Thousands of Afghan migrants have managed to obtain identification cards by cheating the computerized registration system in Pakistan. The photo on her fake identification shows the same piercing green eyes of Sharbat from Steve McCurry's photo, although she appears somewhat older. The original photograph was taken in 1984 in a refugee camp in northwest Peshawar during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Steve McCurry found Sharbat again in 2002 after a long search. She had married a baker, had three children, and lived in a remote village in Afghanistan. Since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, Pakistan has been a relatively safe haven for millions of Afghan refugees for four decades. According to UN statistics, about four million Afghans are registered in Pakistan, making it the third-largest host country for refugees in the world. The UN estimates that about one million more Afghan migrants live in Pakistan without residency permits. The Pakistani government has repeatedly delayed the deadline for Afghans to return to their country since 2009, but there are concerns that a new deadline set for March 2017 will be definitive. Migrants and refugees are extremely worried about their future due to intensified controls in Pakistan, especially regarding those who have obtained Pakistani citizenship cards. UN statistics indicate that around 350,000 Afghan migrants have returned to their country this year, and the trend is expected to continue. They face an uncertain future in Afghanistan, as the country continues to be affected by ongoing war and the significant issue of millions of internally displaced persons, with government officials warning of a potential crisis due to the scale of migration.