Dr Sanaa Alimia, Assistant Professor at AKU's Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations (AKU-ISMC), has been awarded the prestigious 2025 Annual Book Prize by the American Institute of Pakistan Studies (AIPS) for her book Refugee Cities: How Afghans Changed Urban Pakistan, published by the University of Pennsylvania Press.
Drawing on years of fieldwork in cities such as Karachi and Peshawar, Refugee Cities documents how Afghan refugees have shaped urban life in Pakistan - not only through labour and economic contributions, but by building communities, engaging in activism, and resisting marginalisation. The book weaves together political anthropology, migration studies, and urban history to reveal the lives of those who often remain invisible in policy and media discourse.
The AIPS Book Prize Committee praised the book for its “ethnographic insight" and its ability to show “how refugee communities are neither passive nor peripheral."
Reflecting on the award, Dr Alimia said, "This recognition is deeply humbling. My hope is that the book invites us to rethink labels like 'refugee' and reflect on how we uphold justice, rights, and inclusion for all. We must stop viewing people through the labels of 'refugees' versus 'citizens'. That lens is dehumanising – and it hides the real structures driving displacement."
At AKU-ISMC, Dr Alimia's work exemplifies the Centre's mission to produce socially relevant scholarship rooted in Muslim contexts and committed to amplifying marginalised voices. Her research speaks to wider debates on migration, citizenship, and pluralism in South and Central Asia and beyond.
Dr Sanaa Alimia, Assistant Professor at AKU's Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations (AKU-ISMC), has been awarded the prestigious 2025 Annual Book Prize by the American Institute of Pakistan Studies (AIPS) for her book Refugee Cities: How Afghans Changed Urban Pakistan, published by the University of Pennsylvania Press.
Drawing on years of fieldwork in cities such as Karachi and Peshawar, Refugee Cities documents how Afghan refugees have shaped urban life in Pakistan - not only through labour and economic contributions, but by building communities, engaging in activism, and resisting marginalisation. The book weaves together political anthropology, migration studies, and urban history to reveal the lives of those who often remain invisible in policy and media discourse.
The AIPS Book Prize Committee praised the book for its “ethnographic insight" and its ability to show “how refugee communities are neither passive nor peripheral."
Reflecting on the award, Dr Alimia said, "This recognition is deeply humbling. My hope is that the book invites us to rethink labels like 'refugee' and reflect on how we uphold justice, rights, and inclusion for all. We must stop viewing people through the labels of 'refugees' versus 'citizens'. That lens is dehumanising – and it hides the real structures driving displacement."
At AKU-ISMC, Dr Alimia's work exemplifies the Centre's mission to produce socially relevant scholarship rooted in Muslim contexts and committed to amplifying marginalised voices. Her research speaks to wider debates on migration, citizenship, and pluralism in South and Central Asia and beyond.
