From denial to acceptance: Iran war’s mental toll on Pakistani expats in UAE

KARACHI: Saman*, a resident of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was at her workplace when a loud explosion occurred in Abu Dhabi — a retaliatory strike by Iran against US-Israel strikes on its territory. Her two children were at home, while her husband was also at work. Her workplace was far from the site of the explosion, so she did not hear it. However, she remained in denial that such an incident could occur in a safe and secure country like the UAE. “Neither did I hear the sound of the first explosion, nor did I concentrate on it as it was another super busy day at work,” Saman told Dawn, adding that her colleagues, who were surprised by the incident, shared the news with her. While still in denial, she immediately checked the news and learned about the incident. Her focus then shifted from the event to the safety of her children and her husband. “My husband checked on my safety through messages, while my daughter, who was terrified by the incident, sent me a text. We soon spoke over the phone,” she said.

Her family had mixed reactions to the first explosion. Her daughter, who was terrified by the incident, kept weeping for two days, while other family members were also afraid but recovered soon. Recounting the day of the incident, Saman said people did not panic despite the unusual situation in a country considered one of the safest in the world. “No emergency was announced to shut down offices ahead of time, nor was there a rush on the roads as people headed home. We completed our work on time and returned home.” In the early days of the war, Saman feared the explosions, wondering when they might occur and how damaging they could be. She could not sleep at night due to constant safety alerts issued by the government. “One night, residents across much of the city were on the streets as alarm bells rang and loud explosions were heard,” she recalled. She added that the loud safety alarm was causing panic, so the official alarm tone was changed at night to reduce stress and fear. She constantly feared for the safety of herself and her family, rushing to reach a safe place whenever an alert was announced. Over time, Saman has become “desensitized,” saying that everything in the country now operates under alerts and safety alarms. The National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) of the UAE started issuing alerts and alarms to the residents since day one of the war, a Khaleej Times report said. LovinDubai, an Instagram account followed and trusted by millions of Pakistani expats in the UAE, described the alert “not as an SMS” (short messaging service), explaining that the Ministry of Interior “uses a high-priority cell broadcast system integrated into the nation’s telecom grid.”

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The system works through local cell towers that broadcast the signal to every device in their range. Every cell phone receives the signal automatically, and the system does not require a phone number or contacts to function. It is designed to bypass mobile settings, the Instagram post said, adding that even if the phone is on silent or offline, the message is still received. It further said that, unlike a WhatsApp message that sits in the inbox, these are force-open alerts which “ensure the information displayed is the only thing you see until you acknowledge it”. When the war entered the 10th day, the UAE authorities announced a change in its warning alert system, Khaleej Times reported, adding it “notifies residents of when to take shelter in a safe place and when it is safe to resume normal activities”. According to the report, the government announced two types of updates. The first uses a high alert tone for the alert itself, along with a standard text message tone for the end of the alert, from 9am to 10:30pm UAE local time. The second type uses a standard text message tone for both the alert and the end of alert, from 10:30pm to 9am local time. As the war engulfed a wider region, including Azerbaijan and Turkey, mental stress began to rise, raising concerns about where the situation might lead globally. For Saman, the stress intensified as she wondered whether it might be the beginning of World War Three. However, she still considered the UAE a safe place to live compared to other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, despite multiple attacks on the UAE by Iran. Though the UAE government has implemented a system of alarms and alerts, Saman remains fearful whenever she leaves her home or workplace, worried that an alert could be triggered at any moment. “Once, I was about to step out of my home for shopping when I received an alert. I had to wait until the safety alarm stopped,” she said. Saman lauded the measures taken by the UAE government to deal with the ongoing situation, saying “they are praiseworthy”. Schools across the UAE took measures for the mental health of the students, with psychologists creating a guidance document for parents on dos and don’ts, Khaleej Times reported. According to another report by the publication, the Gulf country also ensured the mental health condition of its residents by activating free and confidential services at clinics and having health authorities assist residents in navigating the situation. Separately, Dubai launched a hotline service to provide free mental health support to its citizens, residents, and visitors, Gulf News reported.

For Saman, other initiatives taken by the government also helped relieve her stress. These included online classes for schools, early spring vacations, and the postponement of second-term exams. Apart from the measures in the education sector, official life continues as usual, with some workplaces offering the option to work from home, she added. She further said that the government continued to introduce new policies daily to ensure public safety and prevent panic. Conflict can disturb people emotionally At least 1.8 million Pakistanis live in the UAE, according to a 2024 figure shared by the Dubai Counsel General. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), an estimated 13 per cent of conflict-affected populations have mild forms of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, while moderate or severe mental disorders affect 9pc. Dr Bushra Jabeen, a clinical psychologist at Ittefaq Hospital Lahore, noted that for Pakistani expats in the UAE, the mental impact of war could be deeper and more personal as many of them were carrying the emotional weight of distance, duty, and uncertainty. “As migrants, they may worry about family back home, the safety of the region, job continuity, travel disruption, rising living costs, and their ability to keep supporting loved ones through remittances,” Jabeen told Dawn. According to Dr Jabeen, anxiety may “manifest as restlessness, sleep problems, irritability, overthinking, low concentration, or silent emotional exhaustion. Although fear, worry, and stress are natural responses to real or perceived threats, migrants often carry additional psychosocial strain due to separation, uncertainty, and exposure to crisis-related stress”. “So, for Pakistani expats, the issue is not only ‘Am I safe here?’ It is also, ‘What happens to my family, my future, and my responsibilities if this crisis grows?’” She further noted that even in “a country widely seen as safe, conflict in the wider region can still disturb people emotionally”. The doctor describes safety not only in terms of borders and policing, but also “what people feel in their minds and homes”. She added that when war dominates headlines, many experience “anxiety, poor sleep, irritability, difficulty concentrating, and a constant sense of uncertainty.” The psychologist highlighted that “emergencies often trigger distress such as fear, sadness, anger, fatigue, and sleep problems, even among people who are not directly in the line of fire”. She added that in the current situation in the UAE, “the psychological effect of the war may come less from direct exposure and more from anticipation about their family in the home country, nonstop social media scrolling, rumours, economic worries, and fear of escalation”. She added that, consequently, it can especially affect children, older adults, expatriate communities, and those already under stress. However, she mentioned that “strong institutions, clear communication, and social stability can reduce panic and help people cope better. Public reassurance, responsible media use, and community support are just as important as physical security in preserving national calm”. Families of Pakistani expats living with fear and uncertainty The overall mental health of everyone living in the Gulf countries has been impacted, as the Middle East, once considered a “safe haven,” has become one of the most vulnerable parts of the world. Dr Monica Vaswani, consultant psychiatrist at Hillpark General Hospital, Karachi, told Dawn that people who directly witness war “develop acute stress disorder. If not treated promptly, it can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with symptoms such as flashbacks, anxiety, sleep disturbances, and avoidance behaviour”. “The most vulnerable are children, as this trauma can affect them the most, leading to childhood traumas and that leads to severe anxiety,” she said.

Dr Vaswani mentioned that the situation not only affects Pakistani expats in the UAE, but also can cause their families back home to experience uncertainty and safety concerns. “It can lead to severe stress and a fear of losing their loved ones.” The ongoing conflict has claimed the lives of three Pakistani expats. One victim, identified as Mureed Zaman, was from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district, while the other victim, Muzaffar Ali, was from Jamshoro. The third victim was killed in a drone attack while fishing inside Iranian waters. Many people have migrated to the Gulf countries due to their low cost of living and safe environment. Deteriorating safety, security, and economic conditions in Pakistan prompted them to move with the hope of improving their living standards. Dr Vaswani highlighted that the Pakistani youth “have seen the UAE and Saudi Arabia as their dream countries”. However, she added that as the region “has lost stability, the young generation who were planning to move may feel stuck and experience despair”. UAE’s status of ‘safe heaven’ is changing The war has exposed the vulnerability of the Gulf countries, caught amid US and Israeli actions and Iran’s retaliatory attacks on US assets and Middle East infrastructure. Naade Ali, a researcher at the Policy Center at the Middle East Institute, noted that the Gulf countries “are caught between relying on the US as their only protector and risking the anger of a powerful neighbour such as Iran, which will always be present”. Ali noted that the conflict has changed the geopolitics of the Persian Gulf forever, “bringing up complex challenges which are difficult to handle by the Gulf countries themselves”. “Countries like the UAE have been holding back from direct involvement in the war, not because they lack the resources, but because they have very little tolerance for risk,” Ali told Dawn, adding the countries could not afford the economic consequences of Iranian attacks on their billion-dollar infrastructure.

Ali also highlighted that the war has shown how constant tension hurts investor confidence, trade, and regional cooperation. “The geography of these countries makes them very fragile; even a simple verbal threat from Iran against American banks or assets in the UAE can trigger panic and a market crash,” he said. The UAE stock exchange remained closed for two days in the initial days of the war, as the country reels from Iran’s retaliatory missile and drone strikes, reflecting the growing economic disruption across the Gulf. He said the Gulf countries might rethink their entire defence strategy if the escalation continues and noted Iran’s stance on closing US military bases in the Middle East. “Eventually, I see the Gulf states engaging with Iran on new security deals and looking for a neutral protector to replace the US that everyone can agree on,” he said, adding that Pakistan could be that choice, “especially since its defense ties with Saudi Arabia and its naval operations have already helped limit Iranian attacks and secure supply lines”. However, it was not an easy task because “the war is getting worse, and Iran is opening new fronts to keep the upper hand”. In Ali’s view, the UAE’s status as a “safe haven” is changing. “The Gulf has relied on oil, tourism, and tax-free living to attract global money, but that trust is fading as investors pull out.” In a reference to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, he said the countries “can no longer guarantee the safety of maritime supply chains, which was the foundation of their business environment.”

“The UAE is especially at risk because it imports nearly 95 per cent of its food and gets a huge portion of its water from desalination plants. As the war goes on, it will be impossible to maintain such a high standard of living.” Ali said that “this situation will deeply affect the Pakistani working class living there. As companies downsize and inflation rises, many will lose their jobs and struggle to save money or send remittances back home. If they are forced to return to Pakistan, the country will feel the loss of this foreign income, which it has relied on for so long.” Saman highlighted the recent hike in petroleum prices and other measures taken by the Pakistani government, noting that the country has been significantly affected economically by the war. For her, these measures would further impact the standard of living of the middle class, which is already struggling with inflation. She also mentioned that the safety and security situation in Pakistan is unsuitable for her family, who have lived in a safe and secure country for the past 10 years. Therefore, the question of whether she and her family would consider moving back to Pakistan did not arise for her.

“Living in the UAE is still the safest option compared with other countries,” she said, adding that the current regional conflict has created an atmosphere of tension and fear that did not exist before. “I still believe living here permanently is the right decision, as the UAE government is taking initiatives for the people that other countries, including Pakistan, would not take under normal circumstances. The safety of people remains the government’s top priority here.” *Name has been changed to protect identity.