After 37 years in Pakistan, an Iraqi refugee family heads home

Dr. Amar Shoukat and his family at the airport, departing for Iraq after spending 37 years in Pakistan as refugees. © UNHCR

© UNHCR

By Qaiser Khan Afridi
5 October 2026

For most people, returning home means revisiting familiar streets, faces and memories. For Dr. Amar Shoukat and his family, it meant setting foot in a country they had never seen. After nearly four decades in Pakistan, the Iraqi refugee family was finally heading to Iraq, the country they had long called home despite never having lived there.

In September 2026, Amar and his family boarded a flight from Quetta to Iraq, ending nearly four decades in exile in Pakistan and beginning a new chapter in the country his parents had been forced to flee to.

It was a surreal and emotional moment.

“I was born in Quetta, and I grew up there,” said Amar, 33. “Every memory of my childhood and youth is connected to Pakistan - my school, my education, my friends, the streets I grew up in, the people I shared my life with.”

Amar's parents fled Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s and sought refuge in Pakistan, where they registered with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in 1989. Like many refugee families displaced by conflict, they arrived seeking safety.

Amar and his siblings were all born and raised in Quetta, a city nestled in the southwestern valleys of Pakistan. They attended local schools, formed lifelong friendships, and built up their careers. Amar followed in his father's footsteps, studied medicine and worked as a medical doctor at a hospital in the city.

However, thoughts of returning to Iraq became more serious following the death of Amar’s father in 2018.

For most refugees, going home is their deepest wish. Yet many spend years, and often decades, in displacement while conditions at home remain unsafe to return.

Throughout the decades, Amar’s father had tirelessly carried the family through the hardships of displacement – from limited documentation to labour opportunities, to financial challenges and uncertainties of living in a foreign land. After his passing, Amar and the family started seriously thinking about returning home to the country of their parents.

The decision was not straightforward. Returning meant leaving behind their community and the experiences that had shaped their lives, their careers and the place where they felt safe and considered home.

“I don't think you can simply leave the place where you spent your entire life and say goodbye to everything. You carry those memories with you,” said Amar. “We understood that Iraq still faces challenges, but we felt confident enough to make the decision. We felt that returning to Iraq would give our family an opportunity to settle there, reconnect with our roots, and build a future for us in our parents' homeland”.

Over the following years, the family worked with the Embassy of the Republic of Iraq, UNHCR, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to complete the documentation and administrative procedures necessary for their return.

Voluntary repatriation is one of the internationally recognized durable solutions for refugees, alongside local integration and resettlement. For return to be sustainable, refugees must be able to make a free and informed decision to go back in safety and dignity.

“This family's journey reflects the support UNHCR provides to refugees globally including in Pakistan – helping them access documentation, protection, and, when the time is right, a safe and voluntary return home,” said Oscar Sanchez, UNHCR Deputy Representative in Pakistan.

“I am Iraqi by family and by roots, but Pakistan is the country that raised me” Dr. Amar

On the day of departure, Amar and his family said goodbye to their home, their children’s school, their friends,and to the streets that saw them grow up. There were long hugs and endless tears, and the particular kind of silence that comes when a chapter of life is closing for good.

For Amar, leaving Pakistan does not diminish the role the country played in his life.

“I am Iraqi by family and by roots, but Pakistan is the country that raised me,” he said. “I am leaving Pakistan physically, but deep in my heart I will always carry it with me.”

“Pakistani people are very warm, hospitable, and kind-hearted. They stood by us, helped us when we needed it the most, and treated us with dignity and respect, and because of that, there will always be a special place in my heart for Pakistan.”

The family's arrival in Iraq marks the beginning of a new chapter, but also the start of new challenges. They plan to register in the civil records, obtain national documentation, and build a new life in the country their parents had once called home.

“We are grateful for the opportunities we had and for the people who supported us,” he said. “Now, we hope to build a peaceful and meaningful future in Iraq.”

For Amar's family, voluntary return has offered an opportunity to rebuild their lives in the country their parents were once forced to flee. Yet for millions of refugees around the world living in long-term displacement, opportunities like this remain out of reach. Through its 50 by 35 vision, UNHCR is working with governments, development partners, the private sector, and refugees themselves to expand self-reliance and pathways to solutions, helping refugees move beyond aid dependency and build their futures with dignity.