ISLAMABAD (PEN) : Renowned Pakistani academic Dr Sanaa Alimia has been awarded the 2025 Book Prize by the American Institute of Pakistan Studies (AIPS) for her acclaimed work, Refugee Cities: How Afghans Changed Urban Pakistan, the institute announced.
Book Recognized as “Enormous Contribution to Pakistan Studies”
Dr Alimia, an Associate Professor at Aga Khan University, was recognized for her groundbreaking research into the impact of Afghan refugee communities on the urban landscape of Pakistan. The AIPS Book Prize Committee unanimously selected her book, describing it as an “enormous contribution to Pakistan Studies.”
Published by the University of Pennsylvania Press, the book draws on more than eight years of ethnographic fieldwork and archival research, exploring how Afghan refugees have transformed cities like Karachi and Peshawar socially, economically, and spatially.
“This book explores the life of Afghan refugees in Pakistan with a specific focus upon their contributions to the development of Karachi and Peshawar,” the prize committee stated.
Afghan Refugees as Urban Agents, Not Just Victims
The committee praised Alimia’s scholarship as “excellent,” noting that the book is well-written, accessible, and built on hundreds of interviews.
Her work challenges dominant narratives that view refugees primarily through security or humanitarian lenses, instead portraying them as active agents shaping Pakistan’s urban environments through labor and community-building in city peripheries.
“As they settled into the peripheries of urban centers, they created their own communities and with their labor contributed greatly to the overall development of Pakistan’s cities,” the committee added.
About the AIPS Book Prize
The AIPS Book Prize is awarded annually to celebrate outstanding scholarly work that deepens understanding of Pakistan’s society, politics, culture, or history. The award is supported by unrestricted funds from AIPS and is not funded by U.S. federal grants.
