Zulhajr Bano-Shah (15 September 2025)

Rehmat and Maryam Researches Islamabad has recently concluded a series of surveys and seminars across eight Pakistani cities, highlighting a rarely discussed but deeply significant issue: the psychological and behavioural influence of Afghan refugee children on their Pakistani classmates in primary schools. The project, conducted from March to August 2025, involved government and private schools in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Swabi, Dera Ismail Khan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Loralai, and Quetta, with one private and one government school selected in each city. In every case study, the focus remained on classes one to five where at least five Afghan children were enrolled, and five Pakistani classmates considered close companions were surveyed with the assistance of teachers. This method created a controlled setting that reflected the natural peer networks in which ideas, perceptions, and habits were exchanged.

Ten carefully designed questions were asked of the Pakistani students to gauge how Afghan peers shaped their thinking about authority, national institutions, and everyday social norms. Questions were intentionally simple but targeted, including whether Afghan peers respected Pakistani teachers, how they described the Pakistan Army, whether they viewed taxes and rules as necessary, and what kind of behaviours they considered acceptable in play and study. Counter-questions were then directed to the Afghan children themselves to probe why they projected such narratives. Findings consistently showed that Afghan refugee children, shaped by their families’ political and social grievances, often transmitted distorted or dismissive views of the Pakistan Army, describing it as repressive or exploitative. Pakistani children exposed to these claims began to repeat them, creating confusion about national symbols of pride. Equally concerning were Afghan attitudes toward rules, with many suggesting that avoiding fees, resisting authority, or claiming privileges without responsibility was natural behaviour, a mindset that their Pakistani peers sometimes adopted as “smartness”.

One striking finding emerged in Rawalpindi, where Afghan students were recorded by teachers describing the Pakistan Army as a “force that always exploits poor Afghans”. Their Pakistani classmates repeated these phrases during the survey, demonstrating how quickly peer influence can reshape young perceptions. In Peshawar, Afghan children reportedly mocked the idea of paying school fees regularly, telling Pakistani peers that “services are rights, not obligations”, a statement that reflected the entitlement mentality often reported in Iran where Afghans had similarly resisted integration. Teachers expressed concern that Pakistani children were beginning to echo these statements, leading to classroom indiscipline and confusion. In Quetta, Afghan students openly admitted to hearing at home that the Pakistan Army was to be feared, not respected, and this sentiment seeped into their peer groups, creating an atmosphere of suspicion.

The seminars that followed each city survey brought together school administrations, teachers, and parents. Many educators confessed they had long observed these dynamics but lacked research to validate their concerns. In Swabi, one principal highlighted how Pakistani students began to question national commemorations such as Defence Day, after Afghan peers dismissed them as “pointless”. In Dera Ghazi Khan, Afghan children were reported telling stories from their families about Iranian schools where they were punished for similar behaviours, yet they admitted that in Pakistan they found more leniency, which they exploited. These discussions underscored that the problem was not isolated but systemic, spreading quietly across cities where Afghan refugees had integrated into the school system.

Rehmat and Maryam Researches drew parallels with Iran’s recent expulsion of more than one million Afghans in 2025, which had been justified by Tehran partly on grounds that Afghan communities undermined local cohesion and spread a sense of entitlement. International organisations documented that Iranian resentment had built up over decades of failed integration, producing stereotypes of Afghans as “thankless” and resistant to rules. The Pakistani findings revealed a comparable pattern in early childhood interactions, with Afghan refugee children transmitting attitudes that disregarded host authority while exploiting hospitality. These parallels suggest that unless Pakistan takes corrective measures, it risks reproducing the cycles of hostility and scapegoating seen in Iran.

The final conference held in Rawalpindi, supported by think tank research fellows, consolidated findings across all cities. The general outcome indicated that Afghan refugee children were not merely passive classmates but active transmitters of narratives shaped by their parents’ grievances and socio-political frustrations. While not all behaviours were negative, the dominant patterns revolved around disrespect for authority, distortion of national identity, and entitlement to services without obligation. Pakistani children, at their most impressionable ages, absorbed these narratives in ways that could reshape civic orientation in the long term. The research recommended targeted pedagogical interventions, teacher training, and a more cautious approach to refugee integration within primary education.

This study has not been without criticism. Some human rights advocates have argued that children should not be held accountable for family or community views, and that the research risks stigmatising Afghan refugees further. Yet the evidence presented in classrooms across eight cities cannot be ignored. It demonstrates a subtle but powerful influence on the Pakistani child psyche, one that if unaddressed could erode national cohesion. The question is not whether Afghan refugee children are to blame, but whether the Pakistani state can afford to leave its youngest generation vulnerable to misleading narratives. Rehmat and Maryam Researches has thrown the first stone into still waters, creating ripples that policymakers, educators, and military strategists must now confront. The findings leave no doubt: the classroom is not only a site of learning but also of national security.