AFGHANS IN KARACHI: Migration, Settlement and Social Networks

This report provides a case study of people of Afghan origin residing in Karachi. Its
aim is to inform the current policy debate and thinking concerning migration and
mobility between Afghanistan and neighbouring states. The issues examined here
include questions concerning conditions of migration, livelihood strategies,
connections with Afghanistan, and linkages with local communities in Karachi.
The case study is based on fieldwork in a number of localities in the Karachi
metropolitan area. The city and its surrounding areas were amalgamated into a
single “city district” under the Devolution Plan of the Government of Pakistan in
2001. At the outset, the study treated the entire area covered by the city district
– as well as some suburbs beyond – as one site. A number of sub-sites were then
identified as areas with a high concentration of people of Afghan origin.