National Geographic's iconic 'Afghan Girl' arrested in Pakistan, to be freed on bail soon

Pakistan is reportedly going to free Sharbat Bibi, best known to the world as the iconic 'Afghan Girl' on bail days after she was arrested in Pakistan for forged documents.

According to reports, Pakistani Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has said that they would like to review documents considering that she was woman and that the case would be looked from a "humanitarian angle".

He further directed the Federal Investigation Agency to arrange for a bail as soon as possible so that she could get out of jail.

"If we withdraw charges against her, deport her, or give her a temporary visa to leave Pakistan, then we will have to take back cases against the officials who issued her fake ID card. They are the real culprits, and I do not want to let them off the hook in any manner," AFP quoted the Khan as saying.

Sharbat Bibi, or the iconic 'Afghan Girl' photographed by Steve McCurry, was arrested by Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on corruption charges in Peshawar on 26 October.

Bibi, now in her 40s, was arrested from her residence in the Nothia area of Pakistan's Peshawar for being in illegal possession of a Pakistani ID card. The officials of Pakistan's National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), who had allegedly issued her the ID card illegally have also been suspended.

Bibi has been arrested on charges of forging a Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC), FIA sources said.

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