Sharbat Gula, known to many as the ‘Afghan Girl’, whose iconic photo taken in 1984 became the face of war in Afghanistan, may be arriving in Bengaluru for treatment at a private hospital in the city reportedly for treatment of Hepatitis C.
Ms. Gula was deported from Pakistan after she was arrested from her house in Peshawar with a forged Pakistani Computerised National Identity Card.
Ambassador of Afghanistan to India Shaida Mohammad Abdali tweeted on Saturday that Ms. Gula would be receiving free treatment in India.
“The Iconic Afghan Sharbat Gula will soon be in India for medical treatment free of cost – Thank you India for being a true friend!” Ambassador Abdali said in a tweet.
He also thanked Narayana Health City in a tweet, saying, “Touched by NARAYANA, hospital in Bangalore, offering the Iconic Sharbatgal free of cost treatment and hospitality: “friend in need”
But sources at Narayana Health City said that they had not received confirmation about whether or not she would be coming to the hospital for treatment.
Symbolic surgery
In 2003, a two-year-old Pakistani girl Noor Fathima, who was born with several holes in her heart, was successfully treated at Narayana Hrudayalaya and her surgery became a symbol for India-Pakistan friendship.
It was after her successful surgery that more children from Pakistan, born with congenital heart defects, were brought to India for treatment.
