Sharbat Gula is being escorted by policemen after an immigration court in Peshawar asked the authorities to deport her. PHOTO: MUHAMMAD IQBAL/ EXPRESS
PESHAWAR: The Afghan ‘Mona Lisa’ was handed down a 15-day jail term and asked to pay a fine of Rs110,000 by a special anti-corruption and immigration court on Friday.
Clad in a brown burqa, Sharbat Gula left the Lady Reading Hospital for the anti-corruption and immigration court.
The court proceedings that lasted just 30 minutes left everyone guessing on what would be the outcome of the case that has involved the diplomats of both Pakistan and Afghanistan. Afghan Ambassador Dr Omar Zakhilwal was the first to post a congratulatory message on the social media site Facebook.
“With utmost delight, I announce that Sharbat Gullah is now free from all the legal troubles she endured,” Zakhilwal said.
He added that she would be now repatriated to Afghanistan as soon as Monday where she will be meeting Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. The message ended with a thank-you note to the government of Pakistan, Civil Society, Peshawar courts and the Federal Investigation Agency.
The judgment of the court reads that the accused Sharbat Gulla had been charged for fraudulently obtaining a Pakistani CNIC and to this she plead guilty while requesting leniency in her favour.
Gula is now a widow with four minor children dependent on her while she herself suffers from hepatitis C.
“She could have been sentenced for up to seven years under the FIR and the accusation levelled against her”, lawyer Mohsin Dawar told The Express Tribune adding that the court had been lenient owing to her deteriorating health and economic condition.
Gula has been charged with five different offences which included the 14 Foreigners Act, sections 419, 420, 468 and 471 are included in the detailed judgment. The sum of the penalty adds up to Rs110,000. In case the fine is not paid, Gula will have to spend an extra three days in jail for each offence.
The fine was paid to the court during the proceedings.
Sources revealed that the money was paid by the Afghan Consulate, whose consul general had met Gula at the hospital on Thursday.
The Central Anti-Corruption Judge Farah Jamshed Khan awarded the 15-day sentence but Gula will serve only four days and will be released on Monday.
Gula has already spent 11 days behind bars where the court also gave her the advantage of 382-B of Criminal Procedure Code which brings into consideration the days spent in detention.
People working closely with the case say that there are only a couple of words that she has managed to speak during this entire course of time. “She was so petrified that initially she refused to even sign the legal documents that were sent to her,” said one source.
He added that she only agreed to sign the document when her son convinced her.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 5th, 2016.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ