Moot discusses challenges facing Afghan refugees

PESHAWAR: Institute of Management Sciences (IMSciences) arranged one-day stakeholder conference on political and socioeconomic challenges faced by Afghan refugees.

The event was sponsored by Friedrich Nauman Foundation, a German organisation working for facilitation of Afghan refugees. Director of Institute of Management Sciences Dr Muhammad Mohsin Khan delivered the welcome address.

Dr Babar Ali Shah, a professor from Peace and Conflict Studies at University of Peshawar, informed the participants about the unique geo-political location of Afghanistan being beneficial if used to advantage and also mentioned foreign invasions and domestic turmoil as hindrance in the stabilisation of Afghanistan.

Saira Bano from UNHCR discussed the educational interventions by International organisations for young Afghan refugees. She discussed the duties and services that UNHCR had provided and would continue to provide for Afghan refugees.

She went into the details of the organised educational approach that UNHCR is providing to the 34,000 primary-level Afghan students living in refugee camps, and encouraged female students to participate.

Dr Javed Iqbal, assistant professor at Institute of Management Sciences, talked about the state of urban refugees in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He stated the findings of a study they recently conducted and came up with concrete results and figures about the number of Afghan refugees living in urban areas, the provision of WASH services to them, livelihood opportunities, educational attainment and other aspects.