National Geographic's 'Afghan Girl' to travel to India for free treatment

Dhaka: After a controversial departure from Pakistan, National Geographic`s famous `Afghan Girl` Sharbat Gula will travel to India to receive free medical treatment.

Afghanistan`s ambassador to India, Shaida Abdali, tweeted: "The Iconic Afghan Sharbat Gula will soon be in India for medical treatment free of cost - Thank you India for being a true friend!"According to her lawyer, Gula, who is in her 40s, suffers from Hepatitis C. She is now scheduled to travel to Bangalore to receive treatment, reports Khaama Press.

Gula arrived in Kabul last week days after she was detained by the authorities in Pakistan allegedly for obtaining fake Pakistani national identity card.

Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani met her after her arrival in Kabul and handed over an apartment key in a bid to welcome her home after spending more than three decades in refuge.

She became famous as the `Afghan Girl` when National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry captured her photograph at the Nasir Bagh refugee camp situated on the edge of Peshawar in 1984 that appeared in the magazine`s cover in June 1985.