Talat Hussain says offensive viral clip was edited out, not aired on Samaa TV
November 04, 2025: Talat Hussain denies airing the viral clip showing Sher Afzal Marwat’s vulgar remark, saying it was not part of his Samaa TV show.
JournalismPakistan.com | Published 9 years ago
Join our WhatsApp channel
PESHAWAR - An Afghan woman immortalised on a celebrated National Geographic magazine cover as a green-eyed 12-year-old girl was arrested Wednesday for living in Pakistan on fraudulent identity papers.
The haunting image of Sharbat Gula, taken in a Pakistan refugee camp by photographer Steve McCurry in the 1980s, became the most famous cover image in the magazine's history.
Her arrest highlights the desperate measures many Afghans are willing to take to avoid returning to their war-torn homeland as Pakistan cracks down on undocumented foreigners.
Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested Gul for fraud following a two-year investigation on her and her husband, who has absconded.
Investigators, who have uncovered thousands of fraud cases over the last decade, launched a probe into her application shortly after she procured the card.
"FIA arrested Sharbat Gula, an Afghan woman, for obtaining a fake ID card," Shahid Ilyas, an FIA official, told AFP.
Ilyas said the authorities were also seeking three National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) officials found responsible for issuing the national identity card to Gula, who have been at large since the fraud was uncovered.
He said that Gula faces seven to 14 years in prison and a fine of $3,000-$5,000 if convicted.
In reality she is unlikely to serve such a harsh sentence -- many Afghans who have been convicted in similar cases have been deported before they could be sent to prison.
Officials say Gula applied for a Pakistani identity card in Peshawar in April 2014, using the name Sharbat Bibi.
Thousands of Afghan refugees have managed to dodge Pakistan's computerised system to get an identity card.
The photo attached to her application featured the same piercing green eyes seen in McCurry's famous image, only older.
The original photograph was taken in 1984 in a refugee camp in northwest Pakistan during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.
McCurry later tracked her down, after a 17-year search, to a remote Afghan village in 2002 where she was married to a baker, and the mother of three daughters. - AFP
November 04, 2025: Talat Hussain denies airing the viral clip showing Sher Afzal Marwat’s vulgar remark, saying it was not part of his Samaa TV show.
November 03, 2025: PFUJ recalls November 3, 2007, as Pakistan’s darkest day under Musharraf, urging protection for journalists and the abolition of laws threatening press freedom.
November 02, 2025: PFUJ urges Pakistan’s federal and provincial governments to end Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists and ensure their safety and press freedom.
November 02, 2025: Impunity for crimes against journalists deepens worldwide as Pakistan reports a 60 percent surge in attacks and weak enforcement of safety laws.
November 01, 2025: Pakistan Press Foundation reports 137 attacks on journalists in 2025, highlighting rising threats, legal harassment, and censorship on the International Day to End Impunity.
November 01, 2025: A viral Samaa TV clip featuring MNA Sher Afzal Marwat’s crude remarks and Talat Hussain’s laughter raises questions about the declining ethics of Pakistani television.
October 31, 2025: Police foiled a plot to kill DawnNewsTV journalist Tahir Naseer in Rawalpindi after arresting suspects hired for Rs200,000. Naseer says threats followed his reporting.
October 31, 2025: CPJ calls on Pakistan to bring Imtiaz Mir’s killers to justice after the journalist was allegedly murdered by a banned militant group in Karachi.
November 05, 2025 The Pulitzer Center is offering global reporting grants for journalists worldwide, funding high-impact projects on underreported issues with rolling applications in 2025.
November 04, 2025 Journalist Rana Ayyub receives death threats over calls demanding a column on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots as CPJ urges swift action to protect journalists in India.
November 04, 2025 TV8 journalist Mariana Rata in Moldova receives a death threat after interviewing politician Renato Usatii on-air, raising concerns about journalist safety.
November 03, 2025 Global journalist unions condemn the Indonesian agriculture minister’s lawsuit against Tempo, calling it a threat to press freedom and demanding that the case be withdrawn.
November 02, 2025 Independent outlet All About Macau to halt print and online operations amid rising pressure, financial strain, and legal threats, sparking press freedom concerns in the city.