Muhammad Ayub Jan

Designation and Administrative Responsibilities

Associate Professor
Head of Migration Research Cell

A Brief Bio

Muhammad Ayub Jan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Peshawar. He is also the head of the Migration Research Cell within the department. He holds a PhD in Politics from the University of York, UK. He has 21 years of teaching and research experience at a university level. He has been delivering courses on identity politics, governance, and institutional politics in Pakistan. Ayub Jan has supervised more than a dozen PhD and MPhil students across various fields, including migration, governance, electoral politics, and identity politics. Ayub Jan’s research interests include migration studies, social protection in climate- and conflict-related emergencies, and governance in Pakistan. He has published his work in several peer-reviewed journals. Ayub Jan has also secured competitive grants for his research projects from UKRI, GCRF, FCDO, USAID, and HEC. Currently, he has co-authored chapters in a book titled ‘Refugees in a world without aid’ and has conducted research on social protection systems for displaced people, including those affected by climate- and conflict-related emergencies in Pakistan.

Recent-Prominent Publications

Books/Book Chapters: 

Oeppen, C, Aman. S; Jan, M.A; Rauf, A (2025). ‘Pakistan’.  In Oeppen, C; Ali, A; Collyer, M Deshingkar, P; Fechter, A and Zaman, T ed. (2025). Refugees in a world without Aid. Open Press, University of Sussex. Brighton. Pp, 138-166. 

Collyer; M; Oeppen, C; Tufa, F.A; Ali, A; Aman, S; Jan, M.A; Deshingkar, P;  Fechter, A.M; Fedda, Y; Lakshman, R; May, E; Mhaissen, R; Mitchell, R; Bazonzi, J. M; Nzogo, R; Rauf, A; Samaha, C; Schroeder, T; South, A; and Zaman, T (2025). ‘Conclusion: A new political economy of displacement’. In Oeppen, C, Ali, A., Collyer, M, Deshingkar, P., Fechter, A. and Zaman, T., ed. (2025). Refugees in a world without Aid. Open Press, University of Sussex. Brighton. Pp. 167-180. 

Selected Papers:

  1. Muhammad Ayub Jan, Muhammad Zubair & Shahida Aman. (June 2023). Panarchies of transformation and resilience: Delineating systemic change in the society, economy, and ecology of Malakand.  Asian Journal of Comparative Politics. https://doi.org/10.1177/20578911231153257. 8(2), 576-593. 
  2. Muhammad Ayub Jan (2017). The Emergence and Transformation of Batkhela (Pakistan) Bazaar: Ethnic Entrepreneurship, Social Networks, and Change in Underdeveloped Societies. Journal of South Asian Development. 12 (3), pp. 308-330. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0973174117733554
  3. Muhammad Ayub Jan (2025). Democratic Disconnect in E-government Policy Initiatives of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. FWU Journal of Social Sciences, Spring 2025, 19(1), 113-121. 
  4. Mahmood Ahmad and Muhammad Ayub Jan (2019). Diversity of information sources: An evaluation of global think tanks’ knowledge construct. Research Evaluation. 28(3). Pp 273-278 (impact factor 2.57). Publication Date: 12-05-2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/reseval/rvz011 
  5. Muhammad Ayub Jan. (Jan 2018). Current Conflict and the Ensuing Debates about Identity among the Pakhtuns in Cultural and Virtual Spaces. Pakistan Journal of Criminology. 10(1). Pp. 18-39.  (ISSN: 2074-2738).
  6. Muhammad Ayub Jan and Shahida Aman (April 2016). War and Local Economy: Imprints of Violent Conflict on Batkhela Bazaar. Pakistan Journal of Criminology. 8(2), pp. 33-42. (ISSN: 2074-2738). 
  7. Expert Commentary (26 March 2023), Co-authored with Ceri Oeppen, Shahida Aman, and Abdul Rauf on Afghan refugees in Pakistan–Protracted displacement or protracted settlement?  For Asian Displacement Solutions Platform (ASDP) and Samuel Hall. ASDP Expert Commentary No 1. Available at: https://adsp.ngo/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Afghan-refugees-in-Pakistan.pdf

Recent Research Projects

  1. Research Project on ‘Climate-induced Displacement and Social Assistance in Chitral, Pakistan’, under the Better Assistance in Crises (BASIC) project in collaboration with the Institute of Development Studies. Funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) from 2024 to 2025. PI of the project.
  2. Research Project on ‘Better Assistance in Crises (BASIC) Research’ in collaboration with the Institute of Development Studies. Funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) from 2022 to 2024.
  3. Research Project on ‘Protracted Displacement Economies’ in collaboration with University of Sussex. Funded by UK’s Global Challenges Research Fund & UK Research and Innovation. 2020-2023. Co-PI of the project.