COMMUNITY NETWORKS AND INFORMAL GOVERNANCE: WHAT PAKISTAN CAN LEARN FROM AFGHAN REFUGEE’S COMMUNITY BUILDING

Abstract

Pakistan is host to one of the largest refugee populations in the world. This paper examines how Afghan refugee communities have relied on ethnolinguistic ties and social capital networks to build resilient informal governance structures through the assistance of the earlier generation of Afghan migrants who gained Pakistani nationality status in the 1970s and became the anchors. Based on the Social Capital Theory, this study shows how bonding, bridging, and linking social capital (through kinship networks and community hosting) have facilitated Afghan refugees to build resilient communities despite the lack of proper formal systems of governing them. Meanwhile, this paper does not ignore the valid national security concerns posed by in Pakistan posed by Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Daesh which have led to its deportation policy as indicated in the National Action Plan, as well as the inability of the Afghan Taliban government to prevent cross-border terrorism. Based on academic sources and recent primary interview data gathered in 2025 among refugees in urban/rural settlements as well as in refugee villages in districts Pishin and Quetta, the findings reveal the need for formal good governance. The discussion suggests a governance framework that is realistic and aligns with the reality on the ground is needed: the porous borders will guarantee the deportee returns, the established communities will secure the undocumented population, and the effective governance will have to be facilitative as well as enforced.