Malaika Khan is pursuing a BS in Economics at the National University of Sciences and Technology, building a strong foundation in economic theory and applied policy. Her commitment to driving positive social change is reflected in her active participation with Women2Women Pakistan and the Young Leaders Conference (YLC). Beyond academics, she has gained professional experience across startups, government bodies, and non-governmental organizations, equipping her with essential real-world insights. Malaika aspires to make her research and policy work accessible in the public domain to influence meaningful societal impact.

For over four decades, Pakistan has stood as an unintended sanctuary for millions of Afghans escaping war, persecution, and unimaginable loss. Since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, waves of desperate families crossed the border into Pakistan, seeking not opportunity but survival. Moreover, while governments signed papers and borders were redrawn in distant rooms, ordinary people, Afghans and Pakistanis alike, made sense of it on the ground. The repatriation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan will have significant long-term impacts.

Afghans did not arrive in Pakistan by choice. They arrived carrying stories of fathers lost to bombings, mothers killed by landmines, and homes reduced to rubble. The camps that sprang up in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan weren’t places of comfort; they were places of refuge, makeshift towns of tents and tin. Yet, from these hardships, something remarkable happened. Communities were rebuilt. Friendships were formed. Markets bustled. Afghans brought skills, labour, and traditions that quietly wove into Pakistan’s economic and cultural fabric.

In Quetta, areas like Liaquat Bazaar thrived because of Afghan shopkeepers and labourers. In Punjab’s farmlands, they became the invisible hands that kept harvests steady. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Afghan traders and transporters built livelihoods that benefited both sides of the border. They were never simply........

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