Editing Peshawar (section)

==== Afghan refugees ====
Peshawar has hosted Afghan refugees since the start of the [[War in Afghanistan (1978–present)|Afghan civil war]] in 1978, though the rate of migration drastically increased following the [[Soviet–Afghan War|Soviet invasion of Afghanistan]] in 1979. By 1980, 100,000 refugees a month were entering the province,<ref name="UNHCR" /> with 25% of all refugees living in Peshawar district in 1981.<ref name="UNHCR" /> The arrival of large numbers of Afghan refugees strained Peshawar's infrastructure,<ref name="murtaza" /> and drastically altered the city's demography.<ref name="murtaza" /> During the 1988 national elections, an estimated 100,000 Afghans refugees were illegally registered to vote in Peshawar.<ref>{{cite news |title=Pakistan Restricts Afghan. Refugees |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/16/world/pakistan-restricts-afghan-refugees.html |access-date=13 December 2012 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=16 November 1988 |first=Donatella |last=Lorch |agency=The New York Times Company |archive-date=6 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106221215/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/16/world/pakistan-restricts-afghan-refugees.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

With the influx of Afghan refugees into Peshawar, the city became a hub for Afghan musicians and artists,<ref>{{cite news |title=PESHAWAR: Refugee musicians keep Afghan music alive |url=http://www.dawn.com/2001/12/25/local22.htm |access-date=13 December 2012 |newspaper=DAWN The Internet Edition |date=24 December 2001 |first=Intikhab |last=Amir |agency=DAWN Group of Newspapers |archive-date=9 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101109170435/http://www.dawn.com/2001/12/25/local22.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> as well as a major centre of [[Pashto literature]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PSFBDAAAQBAJ&q=peshawar+hindko+pashto |title=The Languages and Linguistics of South Asia: A Comprehensive Guide |date=24 May 2016 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG |isbn=978-3-11-042330-3 |editor1-last=Hock |editor1-first=Hans Henrich |editor1-link=Hans Henrich Hock |pages=299 |access-date=5 April 2017 |editor2-last=Bashir |editor2-first=Elena |editor2-link=Elena Bashir |archive-date=7 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307070329/https://books.google.com/books?id=PSFBDAAAQBAJ&q=peshawar+hindko+pashto |url-status=live }}</ref> Some Afghan refugees have established successful businesses in Peshawar, and play an important role in the city's economy.<ref name="tribune.com.pk">{{cite news |title=Fragile economy of Peshawar and policy failure |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/1145097/fragile-economy-peshawar-policy-failure/ |access-date=7 April 2017 |work=The Tribune |date=20 July 2016 |archive-date=6 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106221242/https://tribune.com.pk/story/1145097/fragile-economy-peshawar-policy-failure/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In recent years, Peshawar district hosts up to 20% of all Afghan refugees in Pakistan.<ref name="UNHCR" /> In 2005, Peshawar district was home to 611,501 Afghan refugees — who constituted 19.7% of the district's total population.<ref name="UNHCR">{{cite web |author1=Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit |title=AFGHANS IN PESHAWAR Migration, Settlements and Social Networks |url=http://www.unhcr.org/43e754da2.pdf |website=Collective for Social Science Research |publisher=[[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees]] |access-date=5 April 2017 |date=January 2006 |archive-date=5 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170405172225/http://www.unhcr.org/43e754da2.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Peshawar's immediate environs were home to large Afghan refugee camps, with [[Jalozai]] camp hosting up to 300,000 refugees in 2001<ref name="Aljazeera">{{cite news |title=Fearing and fleeing in Pakistan |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/03/fearing-fleeing-pakistan-201434849183800.html |access-date=5 April 2017 |publisher=Al Jazeera |date=5 March 2014 |archive-date=5 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170405171610/http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/03/fearing-fleeing-pakistan-201434849183800.html |url-status=live }}</ref> – making it the largest refugee camp in Asia at the time.<ref name="Aljazeera" /> In 2012, it was estimated that Afghans constituted 28% of the city's total population, and that the numbers could be higher.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Alimia |first=Sanaa |title=Refugee cities: how Afghans changed urban Pakistan |date=2022 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-1-5128-2279-3 |edition= |location=Philadelphia |pages=88}}</ref>

Afghan refugees began to be frequently accused of involvement with terrorist attacks that occurred during Pakistan's [[War in North-West Pakistan|war against radical Islamists]].<ref name="PRI" /> By 2015 the Pakistani government adopted a policy to repatriate Afghan refugees, including many who had spent their entire life in Pakistan.<ref name="PRI">{{cite news |title=Pakistan wants millions of Afghan refugees gone. It's a humanitarian crisis waiting to happen. |url=https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-03-30/pakistan-wants-millions-afghan-refugees-gone-its-humanitarian-crisis-waiting |access-date=5 April 2017 |agency=Reuters |publisher=Public Radio International |date=30 March 2017 |archive-date=12 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200112100212/https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-03-30/pakistan-wants-millions-afghan-refugees-gone-its-humanitarian-crisis-waiting |url-status=live }}</ref> The policy of repatriation was also encouraged by the government of Afghanistan,<ref name="Constable">{{cite news |last1=Constable |first1=Pamela |author-link=Pamela Constable |title='There is nothing here but dust': What Afghan deportees face after years as refugees in Pakistan |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/there-is-nothing-here-but-dust-what-afghan-deportees-face-after-years-as-refugees-in-pakistan/2017/03/19/8fc648a6-03f6-11e7-9d14-9724d48f5666_story.html |access-date=5 April 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=19 March 2017 |archive-date=6 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106221137/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/there-is-nothing-here-but-dust-what-afghan-deportees-face-after-years-as-refugees-in-pakistan/2017/03/19/8fc648a6-03f6-11e7-9d14-9724d48f5666_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> though many refugees had not registered themselves in Pakistan. Unregistered refugees returning to Afghanistan without their old Afghan identification documents now have no official status in Afghanistan either.<ref name="Constable" />