Pakistan's FIA arrests Nat Geo's famed 'Afghan girl' Sharbat Bibi over forged papers

Sharbat Bibi, the Afghan girl who was immortalised on a National Geographic magazine cover as a green-eyed 12-year-old girl, was arrested by Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Peshawar on Wednesday, officials said.

In a report published in Dawn.com, Bibi was arrested for living in Pakistan on fraudulent identity papers.

The report said Bibi has been accused of forgery of a Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC). Authorities recoverd Pakistani and Afghan ID cards from her possession. 

Country's National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) confirmed the arrest.

The report says that Bibi now faces seven to 14 years imprisonment and fine ranging between 3,000 to 5,000 dollar if convicted by court over fraud.

The agency is also planning to take action against officials who issued her forged papers.

Bibi was dubbed as the 'Afghan Girl' when National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry captured her photograph at the Nasir Bagh refugee camp in Peshawar in 1984 and identified her as Sharbat Gula.

Bibi's image was featured on the cover of the June 1985 issue of magazine at a time when she was approximately 12 years old.