Syed Hassan Zulfiqar invited at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP)

the United States Institute of Peace hosted a roundtable discussion on “Pashtun Identity, Co-ethnicity, and the Reception of Afghan Refugees in Pakistan”. With Pakistan hosting nearly 3 million Afghan refugees, this discussion explored how ethnic ties, particularly Pashtun co-ethnicity, shape refugee reception and social cohesion in host communities.

The discussion highlighted USIP supported research by Dr. Mashail Malik (Assistant Professor of Government at Harvard University), Dr. Niloufer Siddiqui (Assistant Professor of Political Science at University at Albany, SUNY) and Dr. Yang-Yang Zhou (Assistant Professor of Government at Dartmouth).

The USIP hosted Philippa Candler (Country Representative, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency Pakistan), Dr. Hassan Abbas (Distinguished Professor of International Relations at National Defense University, USA), and Ambassador Masood Khan (Pakistan’s former Ambassador to the U.S.) as guests of honor. Their insights, along with great participation from Pakistani academia, civil society, and practitioners, including Syed Hassan Zulfiqar of The Global Center of Excellence in Criminology enriched the discussion and provided diverse perspectives on one of the most critical humanitarian challenges of our time.

Over the years, USIP has convened discussions on Afghanistan’s evolving dynamics, bringing together distinguished voices including Thomas West (then U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan), Karen Decker (U.S. Charge D’Affaires for Afghanistan), and Kate Bateman (Senior Afghanistan Expert). These engagements reflect our commitment to fostering dialogue for peace and inclusion in the region.

Pictures: USIP