Donor: United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees (UNHCR)

Locale: Various regions of Punjab including Peshawar, Baluchistan and Punjab

Duration:  1st June  – 15th October 2018

Team Members: Dr. Shehryar Khan Toru, Syed Mohsin Ali Kazmi, Rabia Manzoor, Ghamz e Ali, Maryam Waqar,Muhammad Shaban 

Introduction:
In the past decade, refugees have become the largest growing population of the world. Individual countries affected by refugees are finding it increasingly difficult to cope with the influx. Models of countries that have dealt with mass inflow of refugees need to be studied and documented to inform the international community. Pakistan is a country that has continued to welcome refugees since its existence. Three episodes of influx of refugees in Pakistan must be considered for developing some understanding of states’ approaches to the management of refugees. The first episode can be recalled when in 1947 millions of Muslims migrated from India to Pakistan1 (Ahmad, 2017). Despite limited resources and external aid from Western Countries, the migrant community from India was integrated and humanitarianly assisted by the newly established state. The second biggest influx of displaced persons after the creation of Bangladesh in 1971. For various reasons, Bihari’s (the non-Bengalis) immigrated to Pakistan. The third and the most recent displacement was the influx of Afghan Refugees to Pakistan (Ahmad, 2017).

After nearly four decades of displacement, Afghan refugees continue to constitute one of the world’s largest protracted refugee populations. Whilst many Afghan refugees have migrated to different countries, Pakistan still hosts the majority of those who were displaced in the aftermath of 1979, the year in which Afghanistan was invaded by the Soviet forces. According to UNHCR, Pakistan continues to host 1.4 million registered Afghan refugees, in addition to an estimated over one million Afghan migrants. According to UNHCR (?), 58% of 1.4 million registered refugees live in Peshawar. By pursuing a policy of co-existence, state institutions have catered for the education, health and employment generation of Afghan refugees in different sectors. The UNHCR has been at the forefront of providing education and primary health care services to refugees settled in Peshawar, Baluchistan and Punjab (UNHCR, 2014). The emergence of security problems in Pakistan have recently sparked concerns over the repatriation of Afghan refugees, a policy adopted under counter-terrorism in the aftermath of the incident of the attack on the Army Public School and College (APSC) in Peshawar in 2014. The repatriation of Afghan refugees should not be solely linked to security as not only are they not involved in terrorism, very few are even involved in other crimes (Khan, 2017). Since the Afghans are living in Pakistan for nearly four decades, SDPI has undertaken this research study for UNHCR which attempts to shed light on the policy of hosting and socio-economic impact of Afghan refugees in various regions of Pakistan including Peshawar, Baluchistan and Punjab.

Objectives: 

• To assess socio-economic impact of Afghan refugees in Pakistan.
• To reflect on the process for lasting solutions for Afghan refugees, with focus on voluntary repatriation and sustainable reintegration in Afghanistan as the preferred solution.

Activities: 

• Inception report incorporating analysis of socio and economic impact of Afghan refugees.
• Carrying out an in-depth survey to explore perceptions of host and refugee populations concerning socio-economic impact of refugees.
• Production of a short documentary of interviews of survey participants to be launched in the media.
• Conducting awareness sessions through media outlets, print and electronic media.

Status: Completed