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.
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“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.
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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.