'Afghan Girl' Sharbat Gula Denied Bail, Reported Ill
Pakistan's charges against Gula for allegedly holding a fraudulent ID continue despite an outpouring of support from the international community and the illness of the defendant.
Sharbat Gula, the Afghan woman who captivated the world's attention when she appeared on an iconic cover of National Geographic magazine in June 1985, has been denied bail by a Pakistani court Tuesday and was transferred to a local hospital.
Sharbat Gula was admitted to Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, and has hepatitis C, Mohsin Dawar, an attorney working on her case told National Geographic. He said he did not know if the hepatitis prompted her immediate hospitalization. Sharbat Gula's husband died of hepatitis several years ago, the Afghan ambassador to Pakistan, Omar Zakhilwal, wrote on his Facebook page.
Sharbat Gula has been jailed in Peshawar in northern Pakistan since last week and is charged with living in Pakistan with