Mahira Khan shares a message on World Refugee Day

The actor had Afghan refugee Hina Shikhani take over her Instagram in a bid to spread awareness

June 20 marked World Refugee Day, celebrated globally in a bid to bring awareness to the ongoing refugee crisis in the world and to help refugees live a better life in their host countries. There are around 2.8 million documented and undocumented Afghan refugees in Pakistan, making it the world's second-largest refugee population after Syrians in Turkey.

On Sunday, actor Mahira Khan, in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), took to Instagram to shed light on the refugee situation in Pakistan and advocate for help from the international community to help the country host its refugee population. On her Instagram stories, the actor shared, “This world refugee day, I’d like to thank the government and the people of Pakistan for all the efforts they’ve made in hosting the refugees. Most refugees in the world are being hosted by developing countries such as my own, so this is my appeal to the international community to help us support countries like us. Together, we can heal, we can shine, we can learn. Together, we can make this world a safer and a stronger place.”

Her Instagram was taken over by Hina Shikhani, originally from Afghanistan but born and raised in Pakistan. Shikhani spoke about the experience of Afghan refugees in Pakistan and advocated for better education opportunities for the refugee population. “On this World Refugee Day, I am proud to stand as a refugee with millions of refugees globally. On this day, my wish is that every child gets an equal opportunity to learn in a safe and welcoming environment. I also hope and wish that other Afghans like myself and the Pakistani youth can get the chances we need to work together and make this world a better place to live in. The challenges facing our world are enormous, but I believe and I hope that together we can do great things,” she said.