After several weeks of legal wrangling and uncertainty, Sharbat Gula—who famously appeared on an iconic 1985 cover of National Geographic magazine as a symbol of refugees—is back in her country of birth, Afghanistan, where she received a warm greeting from the country's president at the Presidential Palace upon her return.

Sharbat Gula, 44, pleaded guilty last week to possession of a fraudulent Pakistani national ID card in a court in Peshawar, in the northwestern part of the country. She could have been sentenced to as much as 14 years, but as part of the terms of her plea, she was sentenced to 15 days in jail and ordered to pay a fine of 110,000 rupees (about $1,050 U.S.).

Afghanistan's government pressured Pakistan