Suffering from hepatitis, Gula may get bail tomorrow

PESHAWAR (Pajhwok): An Afghan refugee woman, whose arrest has hogged headlines around the globe and drew howls of protests, is suffering from hepatitis-C, a court in Peshawar was informed on Tuesday.

Sharbat Gula, who shot into worldwide recognition after her childhood photograph appeared on the cover of the National Geographic Magazine in 1985, was detained by Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) agents last week.

The iconic woman with haunting eyes, representing the plight of millions of refugees, was arrested during a raid on a house in the Nauthia neighbourhood of Peshawar on Wednesday for fraudulently acquiring Pakistani identity papers.   

District and Sessions Judge Ms. Farah Jamshed was informed by the defence counsel that her client, who was suffering from hepatitis-C. During a bail hearing, the lawyer said the ailing woman was the sole breadwinner for her family.

Asked if she wanted to record her confession, the accused replied in the negative and refused confessing to the charges brought against her. The court sent her to the Peshawar central prison on judicial remand for 14 days.

The bail hearing was adjourned to Nov 2 (Wednesday, when she is expected to be bailed out. Her lawyers filed a fresh application duly signed and approved by the defendant. Advocates Mubashir Nazar and Rafiullah Baba represented her on behalf of the Afghan Embassy.

On the eve of the case hearing, Councilor Muhammad Nasim Kakar and Abdul Hameed Jalili -- representing the Afghan Embassy -- visited Gula in Peshawar Central Jail. Ambassador Dr. Omar Zakhilwal instructed the diplomats to visit Gula.

Gula hails from the Tora Bora in 1984 along with her brother, three sisters and grandmother.

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