DO REFUGEES COMMIT CRIMES? UNDERSTANDING AFGHAN REFUGEES’ INVOLVEMENT IN CRIMES IN QUETTA, PAKISTAN

Abstract

The post-Soviet war situation in Afghanistan pushed a large number of natives out of country mainly to the two neighboring countries, a) Pakistan and b) Iran. It is estimated that more than three million (both documented and undocumented) Afghan refugees still inhabit in the different regions of Pakistan but most of them are concentrated in the borderlands adjacent to the Pakistan-Afghan border. The district Quetta houses a reasonable number of Afghan refugees since their arrival during 1980s. Afghan refugees are stigmatized as key actors in different kinds of crimes in the district Quetta. For the current research study 150 respondents were approached and responses were enumerated with the help of a well-structured interview schedule. For the selection of the respondents a purposive sampling method was used. The respondents were asked about the possible involvement of Afghan refugees in different crimes. In people’s perceptions some of the Afghan refugees were actively participating in the following types of crimes in the city: a) terrorism, b) kidnapping, robbing and looting, c) killings, and d) drugs trafficking. They further highlighted that there is a positive association between the lower economic conditions of Afghan refugees and their involvement in the crimes. Rational choice theory was used in this research.