TAMSAAL is an international, peer-reviewed, open-access scholarly journal dedicated to advancing high-quality research and promoting academic excellence across the disciplines of arts, humanities, and social sciences. The journal aims to provide an inclusive platform for researchers, scholars, educators, professionals, and policymakers to disseminate original research, critical analyses, theoretical contributions, and interdisciplinary studies that address contemporary social, cultural, educational, economic, political, and human development issues. TAMSAAL is committed to fostering intellectual dialogue, encouraging innovative thinking, and supporting evidence-based research that contributes to knowledge creation and informed decision-making at national and international levels.
When Piety Becomes Painful: Gender Moderation in the Relationship between Religious Scrupulosity and Loneliness among Emerging Adults
The present study was designed to explore the link between religious scrupulosity and loneliness in Pakistani university students, while specifically examining whether gender plays a moderating role in this relationship. A total of 400 university students (177 male, 233 female), ranging in age from 19 to 25 years (M = 21.4, SD = 1.8), took part in the study. Participants completed the Penn Inventory of Scrupulosity-Revised (PIOS-R) and the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale. There was a hierarchical regression analysis with the use of PROCESS Macro (Model 1) to determine whether gender moderated the relationship between scrupulosity and loneliness. The result indicated that there was an important positive correlation between religious scrupulosity and loneliness in the whole sample (r =.47, p <.001). More importantly, gender emerged as a significant moderator of this relationship (B = 0.15, SE = 0.05, t = 3.14, p = .002, 95% CI [0.06, 0.24]). Female participants exhibited a much greater level of association (B = 0.36) as compared to their male counterparts (B = 0.21). Further breakdown indicated that females had much more loneliness at higher scrupulosity levels compared to males, but that the gender difference had little at less scrupulosity levels. Such results indicate that young women having religious obsessions can be particularly susceptible to social loneliness. This weakness can be related to the gendered religious expectations, social inspection, and pressure on culture, which collectivistic societies accentuate especially. The paper highlights the necessity to design gender-sensitive mental health support services within universities and create awareness about the religious scrupulosity as a possible predisposing factor of loneliness in the young adulthood.
religious scrupulosity, loneliness, gender moderation, emerging adults, Pakistan, obsessive-compulsive disorder
Copyright (c) 2026 Anam Zafar, Tehmina Ashraf, Ayesha Asjid, Rabia Fiaz https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
From Constitutional Prohibition to Regulatory Architecture: Riba Regulation in Pakistan and Malaysia and the Design of a Transition Law for Islamic Banking
Pakistan and Malaysia both see Shariah compliance as important for Islamic banking but they have created very different legal systems to control riba. Pakistans system is based on a promise in the constitution to remove riba the rulings from the Federal Shariat Court and rules from the State Bank of Pakistan. Malaysias system is based on laws, a special Shariah Advisory Council at Bank Negara Malaysia and clear guidelines for how things should be done. This article uses that difference to make a case, for change. It looks at riba not as a religious rule but as an issue involving the order of laws, who is responsible how courts should handle it, who needs to be held accountable and how changes should be made. Using methods that look at the ideas and how things work the article examines Pakistans court system Malaysias rules about Shariah compliance and the guidelines set by both regulators. The article says that Pakistan has a constitution but less strong laws that go along with it. Malaysia on the hand has clearer ways to make sure things follow Shariah rules. Malaysia also has ways to report when things do not follow Shariah and has good teamwork between courts and regulators. The article says Pakistan should not just copy what Malaysia does. Instead Pakistan should take the parts of Malaysias system and make them fit for Pakistan. This should be done through a law about stopping interest and building an Islamic financial system. This law should explain what interest is make it required by law to follow Shariah rules create a group to handle Shariah finance set up a way for courts to refer to this group write down how to deal with cases where Shariah rules are not followed protect people who use financial services and plan a step-, by-step change before the 2028 deadline set by the constitution.
riba; Islamic banking; Pakistan; Malaysia; Shariah governance; Federal Shariat Court; Bank Negara Malaysia; Islamic Financial Services Act 2013; Islamic finance law; legal transplantation
Copyright (c) 2026 Bushra Urooj, Saira Naheed https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Withholding Dilemma: Revenue Necessity or Compliance Nightmare? A Critical Legal Analysis of Pakistan's Withholding Tax Regime
Taxation System plays a significant role in the economy of Pakistan and Withholding tax regime is undoubtedly the backbone of FBR tax revenue on yearly basis. In this research I will examine the role and importance of Withholding Tax in Pakistan and the prevailing laws in this regard. Majorly I have examined how in previous years revenue generated by Withholding Taxes has significantly increased. In addition to all these details regarding the withholding tax I have discussed the dark side of extreme reliance on Withholding Tax System by the government by neglecting other indirect and direct ways of collection of taxes.
Withholding Tax, Taxation, Federal Board of Revenue, Tax Regime, Final Tax
Copyright (c) 2026 Natasha Sohail Ashraf, Khushbakht Qaiser https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Copyright Literacy and Compliance in Pakistan's Digital Knowledge Economy: AI Authorship, Institutional Gaps, and the Case for Legal Reform
The rapid expansion of digital technology has transformed how knowledge is created, shared, and accessed, and generative artificial intelligence has now added a further layer of legal uncertainty to a copyright system many jurisdictions had only just begun adapting to the internet era. This article examines copyright literacy and legal compliance in Pakistan's digital knowledge economy through a doctrinal and comparative lens, updating an earlier qualitative content-analysis account of the field with the most consequential recent case law and institutional developments. It shows that two 2025 decisions the D.C. Circuit's ruling in Thaler v Perlmutter, holding that copyright authorship requires a human being, and the District of Delaware's ruling in Thomson Reuters v Ross Intelligence, the first US decision to reject a fair-use defence for AI training on copyrighted material have begun to answer questions that Pakistani law has not yet even framed in statutory terms. Pakistan's Copyright Ordinance 1962, last substantively amended in 2000, retains a closed, word-count-based fair-dealing test that cannot meaningfully evaluate AI training or AI-assisted authorship, while the Higher Education Commission's 2024 Journals and Publications Policy imposes numerical similarity thresholds without any corresponding standard for AI-generated or AI-assisted text, and IPO-Pakistan's inter-agency enforcement committees contain no institution with an explicit mandate over AI-related content. Drawing on Pakistan's existing empirical literature on copyright literacy among librarians, students, and academic staff, the article argues that this legal and institutional vacuum compounds, rather than merely coexists with, Pakistan's documented literacy deficit, and proposes a sequenced reform agenda addressing statutory amendment, institutional guidance, and copyright-literacy infrastructure together.
copyright literacy; Pakistan; Copyright Ordinance 1962; artificial intelligence; fair dealing; fair use; Thaler v Perlmutter; Thomson Reuters v Ross Intelligence; Higher Education Commission; academic integrity
Copyright (c) 2026 Hamna Noor, Dr. Shahzada Aamir Mushtaq, Dr. Muhammad Ali Safdar https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Corporate Sustainability and Climate Action: Legal Perspectives on SDG Implementation in Pakistan's Energy Sector
Pakistan's energy sector sits at the intersection of three of the most consequential legal developments in contemporary sustainable-development law: the Sustainable Development Goals framework, the international climate regime under the Paris Agreement, and the rapidly evolving domain of corporate sustainability disclosure. This article critically examines how these three domains have been translated into Pakistani law, from the constitutionally significant climate litigation of Leghari v Federation of Pakistan and the Climate Change Act 2017, through the Alternative and Renewable Energy Policy 2019 and Pakistan's successive Nationally Determined Contributions, to the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan's still-developing corporate ESG disclosure architecture. It updates this account to reflect Pakistan's Third Nationally Determined Contribution, submitted to the UNFCCC in September 2025, which commits to a fifty percent reduction in projected greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 at an estimated cost of USD 565.7 billion, and to reflect the Supreme Court of Pakistan's 2024 order compelling the long-delayed establishment of the Pakistan Climate Change Authority. The article also engages critically with the comparative European Union framework this literature typically treats as an aspirational benchmark, showing that the EU's own Corporate Sustainability Reporting and Due Diligence Directives were substantially narrowed by the Omnibus I Directive finalised in February 2026 — a retreat that complicates any simple account of Europe as a fixed regulatory ideal for Pakistan to emulate. The article argues that Pakistan's SDG-aligned legal architecture suffers less from an absence of formal commitment than from a persistent enforcement and institutional-coordination gap between climate policy, energy-sector regulation, and corporate accountability law, and proposes a sequenced reform agenda to close it.
Sustainable Development Goals; SDG 7; SDG 13; climate change law; corporate sustainability; ESG disclosure; Pakistan energy sector; Climate Change Act 2017; Nationally Determined Contributions; SECP; CSRD; CSDDD
Copyright (c) 2026 Kashif Ali, Dr. Shazia Qureshi, Dr. Shahzada Aamir Mushtaq https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Linguistic Imperialism and Discourse Colonialism in Pakistani English Medium Education Policy: A Critical Postcolonial Discourse Analysis
The present study aims to explore the linguistic imperialism and discourse colonialism in Pakistani English-medium instruction (EMI) education policy using Critical Postcolonial Discourse Analysis (CPCDA). The study is based on colonial linguistic discourse in Pakistan, which establishes a linguistic hierarchy and ideology from a Postcolonial perspective. The study employed a qualitative interpretivist paradigm based on the theory of Linguistic Imperialism (Phillipson) and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) (Fairclough) with a post-colonial approach as proposed by Bhabha, Fairclough, Ashcroft, Griffiths, and Tiffin. The documents analysed were official policy texts of national and provincial EMI policies, which were collected through a documentation procedure that involved a population of twelve (N = 12) national and provincial EMI policy documents from 2009 to 2025. Considering the National Education Policy 2009, the National Education Policy 2017-2025, and the Single National Curriculum 2020-21, six (n = 6) documents were selected using purposive, criterion-based sampling. The results showed the presence of five repetitive codes of discourse: ‘globalist legitimation,' ‘functional bifurcation,' ‘implementation erasure,' ‘colonial residue naming,' and ‘elite/mass stratification,' and that colonial genealogy was always undermentioned throughout the corpus. The results reveal that the policy discourse of Pakistani EMI is reproducing the linguistic hierarchy through naturalisation and omission instead of assertion, thereby extending the linguistic imperialism theory to a finer-grained level to analyse the national policy.
Linguistic Imperialism, Discourse Colonialism, Postcolonial Theory, English-Medium Instruction, Critical Discourse Analysis, Language Policy, Pakistan, Linguistic Hierarchy, Fairclough, Hegemony
Copyright (c) 2026 Rai Muhammad Aon Raza, Dr. Muhammad Siddique, Muhammad Sheraz Anwar, Muhammad Shahrugh Bukhari https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Crafting Hand-Woven Shawls through Traditional Ikat Dyeing Technique Using Architectural Motifs of Ram Pyari Mahal as Core Patterns
This study explores the integration of Pakistan's architectural heritage with traditional textile craftsmanship by developing hand-woven shawls inspired by the architectural motifs of Ram Pyari Mahal, Gujrat, using the Ikat resist-dyeing technique. The primary objective was to revive the declining Ikat weaving tradition while preserving cultural identity through innovative textile design. A practice-based research approach was adopted in which architectural elements of Ram Pyari Mahal were documented through photographic surveys and transformed into textile motifs. Selected patterns were manually sketched, digitally refined using Adobe Photoshop, and applied to warp yarns through screen-printing before weaving the shawls using the Ikat technique. Woolen yarns, pigments, binders, and mordants were used to produce six prototype shawls featuring modified architectural motifs. The finished products were exhibited at the University of Gujrat to obtain public feedback and evaluate their aesthetic and commercial acceptance. The findings demonstrate that the fusion of architectural motifs with traditional Ikat weaving successfully generated contemporary shawl designs while maintaining the authenticity of Pakistan's cultural heritage. Among the six developed prototypes, Shawl No. 6 received the highest preference from participants, indicating strong consumer appreciation for designs combining historical inspiration with modern aesthetics. The study further highlights that digital design tools can significantly reduce pattern development time without compromising artistic value. Overall, the research confirms that integrating architectural heritage into textile design offers an effective strategy for preserving traditional crafts, promoting cultural tourism, and enhancing the competitiveness of Pakistan's fashion industry. The proposed design approach provides valuable opportunities for artisans, designers, and textile manufacturers to develop innovative heritage-inspired products for both local and international markets.
Ikat Resist Dyeing, Hand-Woven Shawls, Ram Pyari Mahal, Architectural Motifs, Textile Design, Traditional Crafts, Pakistan Textile Industry
Copyright (c) 2026 Talat Sultana, Shabana Sajjad, Nida Andleeb Khattak https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Shafiq Asif is regarded as one of the prominent contemporary Urdu poets who has demonstrated his creative excellence not only in the genres of ghazal, nazm, and prose poem but also in Mahiya writing. By preserving the traditional structure, rhythm, and spirit of the Punjabi Mahiya, he has enriched Urdu Mahiya with artistic refinement and literary significance. His two collections, Jab Khwab Bikharte Hain and Ik Chehra Banaunga, reflect his serious commitment to and mastery of this poetic form. Love remains the central theme of Shafiq Asif’s Mahiyas; however, his poetry also encompasses a wide range of subjects, including separation and union, the portrayal of the beloved’s beauty, hope, remembrance, longing, social values, human relationships, the transience of worldly life, cultural consciousness, and allusions to Punjabi romantic folk tales. His Mahiyas are distinguished by simplicity of expression, depth of thought, sincerity of emotion, effective use of symbolism and imagery, melodiousness, and lyrical beauty. Overall, Shafiq Asif’s Mahiya writing presents a harmonious blend of tradition and modernity. Rather than confining the genre to romantic expression alone, he has expanded its scope by incorporating contemporary intellectual, social, and cultural concerns. These qualities have earned him a distinctive position among his contemporaries and established his contribution as a valuable addition to the tradition of Urdu Mahiya.
Shafiq Asif, Urdu Mahiya, Punjabi Mahiya, Folk Poetry, Contemporary Urdu Poetry, Love, Social Consciousness, Cultural Values, Symbolism, Lyricism, Poetic Tradition, Literary Analysis
Copyright (c) 2026 Arifa Gul https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Impact of Punjab Socio Economic Registry (PSER) Survey on Teachers' Mental Health, Professional Productivity, and Student Learning Outcomes: A Case Study of Punjab, Pakistan
This study aims to analyse the impact of the Punjab Socio Economic Registry (PSER) Survey on teachers' mental health, professional productivity, and students' learning outcomes. This research was qualitative in nature considering the public sector teachers as unit of analysis, both male and female. A questionnaire was designed to explore the issues of the teachers which they encountere in their work place. Findings revealed that the PSER imposes a significant non-academic workload, acting as a major job demand within the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) framework. The PSER job descriptions lead to increase stress, burnout, and reduced motivation among teachers, which badly affect their instructional quality and student learning outcomes. The study concludes that the current implementation of PSER damages quality of education and recommends removing teachers from data collection to ensure teachers well-being and improve student learning outcomes. The government should arrange workshops on stress management for teachers.
Socio-Economic Registry Survey, Professional Productivity, Mental Health, Learning Outcomes
Copyright (c) 2026 Saadia Basharat, Dr. Malik Saqib Ali https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Strategic Human Resource Management in the Digital Era: A Quantitative Analysis of Perceived EVP, E-HRM Practices, Organizational Trust, and Employee Retention in Pakistan's Fashion Retail Sector
In today's knowledge economy, talent retention has become a key business goal for companies seeking competitive advantage. This study seeks to transfer the customer-centric principles into the Human Resource (HR) architecture, by exploring the structural linkage between Perceived Employee Value Proposition (EVP), Electronic Human Resource Management (E-HRM) practices, Organizational Trust and the resulting impact on Employee Retention. This is an empirical study with a post-positivist epistemological approach using a quantitative, cross sectional survey design to assess the corporate personnel (N = 390) of three leading fashion retail conglomerates (Khaadi, Sapphire, Gul Ahmed) in Pakistan. The psychometric properties of the structured instruments were checked using Cronbach's alpha (α > 0.90). Pearson correlation analysis and multi-variable linear regression analysis showed that Organizational Trust was the main and most powerful predictor of Employee Retention in all the organizational contexts (Khaadi: β = 0.942; Sapphire: β = 0.735; Gul Ahmed: β = 0.923). In comparison, Perceived EVP showed reverse paths in the traditional legacy structures, with negative signs indicating an expectation-reality gap. E-HRM systems proved to be highly effective in digitally oriented contexts in supporting retention, while showing little functionality in legacy contexts. This study contributes to Employee Turnover Theory and Resource Based View (RBV) in a new context of the fast developing corporate context of the emerging South Asian context.
Employee Retention, Employee Value Proposition, E-HRM, Organizational Trust, Pakistan Retail Sector, Strategic Human Resource Management
Copyright (c) 2026 Muhammad Mudassir Safdar, Dr. Muhammad Asif, Dr. Muhammad Farhan Amjad https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Students’ Perceptions of ChatGPT in Academic Research Libraries: Opportunities, Challenges, and Implementation Priorities
Purpose – This study examines library and information science students’ perceptions of the potential role of ChatGPT in academic research libraries, with particular attention to service opportunities, ethical and operational challenges, and implementation requirements. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative, cross-sectional survey design was used. Data were collected from 300 university-level library science students from Saudi Arabia selected through convenience sampling. A five-point Likert-type questionnaire was administered, and responses were analyzed descriptively using percentages and weighted mean scores. Findings – Respondents generally perceived ChatGPT as useful for digital collection management, information retrieval, accessibility, and personalized research support. They also expressed substantial concern about privacy, response accuracy, bias, and the training required for librarians. The strongest positive response concerned the efficient management and curation of digital collections (M = 4.22), while the lowest level of agreement concerned the possibility that ChatGPT would reduce the need for human librarians (M = 3.55), although this response was still above the scale midpoint. Practical implications – Academic libraries should adopt ChatGPT through controlled pilots, human oversight, privacy safeguards, accuracy verification, and structured AI-literacy training for both librarians and users. Originality/value – The study contributes user-centered evidence on how future information professionals understand the opportunities and risks of generative AI in academic library settings.
ChatGPT; generative artificial intelligence; academic libraries; research support; library science students; AI literacy
Copyright (c) 2026 Tahira Yasmin, Muhammad Kabir Khan https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
NLP Persuasive Language Patterns in Competing Pakistani Political Discourses on X (Twitter) During Crisis (2023–2024): A Comparative Critical Discourse Analysis
This study is a qualitative Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of three Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) persuasive language patterns – reframing, presuppositions and metaphorical framing – in the X (Twitter) discourse of two leading Pakistani political personalities, one in government and the other in opposition, during Pakistan’s political crisis of 2023–2024. Drawing on ten purposively selected X posts (five for each leader), the study explores the differential use of the same persuasive strategies from within and outside institutional power through Fairclough’s (1992; 2003) three-dimensional model of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Bandler and Grinder’s (1975) linguistic model from Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). Findings suggest that both leaders use the same NLP toolkit but in systematically different ways: the opposition leader’s discourse deploys these patterns to delegitimise state authority, build persecution narratives and sustain mass mobilisation, while the governing leader’s discourse deploys them to construct institutional legitimacy, delegitimise the opposition and perform governance authority. The study proposes the Power-Position Hypothesis as a theoretically generalisable contribution to Applied Linguistics, Critical Discourse Studies, and digital political communication research: The proposition that NLP persuasive patterns in political discourse are systematically shaped by a speaker’s structural position in the political field.
Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Critical Discourse Analysis, Pakistani political discourse, Twitter/X, reframing, presuppositions, metaphorical framing, power, comparative discourse analysis
Copyright (c) 2026 Misbah Tasneem, Dr. Nadeem Anwar https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Global Finance and Local Control: The IMF’s Push for State Bank Autonomy and Its Implications for Governance in Pakistan
The paper presents the dilemma of sovereignty of the economy and conditions set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the impact on the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in particular. It discusses how the legal regulatory framework of the SBP and its institutional independence in monetary and fiscal policy coordination has been influenced by the different IMF programs since the 1990s. The paper uses a legal-institutional approach for examining IMF loan agreements, SBP annual reports and key legislation including the SBP Amendment Act 2021 to conclude that while the IMF conditionality has formally extended SBP's statutory independence, this has been done with the introduction of new coordination challenges with the fiscal authorities, which have impacted SBP's credibility and its primary mandate of maintaining price stability. The results indicate that central banks in a developing country under a balance of payments crisis have varying degrees of resilience.
Central Bank, State Bank of Pakistan, IMF, Impact, Legal Regulatory Framework
Copyright (c) 2026 Dr. Akhlaque Hussain Larik, Sabeen Azam https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
A Thematic Study of Riaz Qadeer's Short Stories
Riaz Qadeer is an empathetic writer who aligns with feminist thought. He desires to secure for women their due dignity, respect, and fundamental human rights. Furthermore, Riaz Qadeer firmly believes in the concept of karma (retribution). Along with the fragrance of love, his short stories also reflect a deviation from it; to him, love is a universal truth at times, and the ultimate lie at others. He has deliberately avoided conventional and typical romantic attitudes. His stories are simple, easily understandable, and free from technical complexities, making it feel as though he is sitting right before us, narrating a tale. He has mostly depicted the deprivations and exploitation present within society. As a voice for the oppressed women of society, Riaz Qadeer addresses the injustices committed by social structures. Feminism encompasses crucial facets of Riaz Qadeer's life and perspective; he stands against the humiliation and dishonor of women and has consistently raised his pen against their exploitation.
Sexuality, Feminine Psychology, Retribution, Exploitation, Social & Psychological Issues
Copyright (c) 2026 Mohsin Zahoor, Ferdous Ehsan, Dr. Munawar Amin https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Aspectual Meaning in Punjabi Verbal Systems: A Cognitive Grammar Analysis of Conversational Discourse among Punjabi Speakers in Jhang
This study examines aspectual meaning in the conversational discourse of Punjabi speakers in Jhang district, Pakistan, addressing the gap between form-oriented descriptive grammars and the discourse functions of aspect in spontaneous speech. Grounded in Langacker's Cognitive Grammar, the study treats perfective, habitual, and continuous aspect as construal operations reflecting specificity, focusing, prominence, and perspective. Employing a qualitative, discourse-analytic design, data were collected through audio-recorded naturally occurring conversations among 32 purposively sampled adult native speakers (16 male, 16 female; eight per tehsil across Jhang, Shorkot, Ahmadpur Sial, and Athara Hazari), yielding approximately six hours of speech across eight sessions. Transcripts were coded manually against Langacker's construal taxonomy, with 214 aspectual tokens analyzed. Findings show habitual aspect as most frequent (44.9%), followed by perfective (36.4%) and continuous (18.7%), with aspectual choice systematically linked to foregrounding, evidential stance-taking, and turn continuation. Results confirm Cognitive Grammar's applicability to underexamined South Asian varieties and extend Punjabi dialectological scholarship.
Aspect, Cognitive Grammar, Construal, Punjabi, Jhang, Conversational Discourse, Perfective, Habitual, Continuous, Discourse-Pragmatics
Copyright (c) 2026 Muhammad Shahrugh Bukhari, Dr. Nadeem Anwar, Muhammad Sheraz Anwar, Rai Muhammad Aon Raza https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
A Narrative Analysis of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado: Applying Roland Barthes’ Five Narrative Codes
This study examines Edgar Allan Poe's The Cask of Amontillado through the lens of Roland Barthes' Five Narrative Codes to demonstrate how the story constructs suspense, shapes reader expectations, and produces multiple layers of meaning. While Poe's tale has been extensively studied from psychological, Gothic, and symbolic perspectives, comparatively little attention has been given to its narrative organization using Barthes' structuralist framework. Adopting a qualitative textual analysis, the study applies Barthes' hermeneutic, proairetic, semic, symbolic, and cultural codes to investigate the mechanisms through which the narrative generates mystery, foreshadows revenge, and engages readers in the interpretive process. The analysis reveals that the hermeneutic code sustains suspense through delayed disclosure, whereas the proairetic code advances the plot via a sequence of carefully orchestrated actions leading to Fortunato's entombment. The semantic code enriches the text through recurring motifs of wine, carnival, darkness, and catacombs, while the symbolic code highlights the binary oppositions of life and death, sanity and madness, power and vulnerability, and appearance and reality. The cultural code reinforces the narrative by drawing upon historical, social, and literary conventions associated with revenge, aristocratic honor, carnival traditions, and Gothic architecture. Together, these codes demonstrate that the story's enduring impact lies not only in its shocking conclusion but also in its intricate narrative design, which actively invites readers to construct meaning through textual clues and cultural knowledge. The study contributes to Barthesian narratology by illustrating the applicability of the Five Narrative Codes to Gothic fiction and offers a comprehensive structural interpretation of one of Poe's most celebrated short stories. It further highlights the value of structuralist narrative analysis as an effective approach for examining reader engagement, textual ambiguity, and meaning-making in literary studies.
Edgar Allan Poe; The Cask of Amontillado; Roland Barthes; Five Narrative Codes; narratology; structuralism; Gothic fiction; semiotics
Copyright (c) 2026 Maheen Mahar, Arisha Shaikh https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Impact of Socio-Emotional Learning on Academic Success and Behavioral Outcomes at the Higher Education Level in District Skardu
Formal socio-emotional learning (SEL) programs and structured counseling services are uncommon in higher education institutions in District Skardu. Nevertheless, students must manage demanding coursework, navigate new social environments, and cope with the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study investigated whether students’ social and emotional skills influence their academic performance and behavior. A survey was conducted with 151 students and 74 faculty members from major institutions, utilizing a five-point questionnaire based on the CASEL framework. The instrument demonstrated acceptable reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.795). Data were analyzed using SPSS, employing descriptive statistics, Pearson chi-square tests, and basic linear regression. SEL, academic success, and behavioral outcomes all received high average scores (4.12, 4.24, and 4.16 out of 5, respectively). Statistically, SEL accounted for 12.1% of the variance in academic success (R² = 0.121, β = 0.348, p < .001) and 7.5% in behavioral outcomes (R² = 0.075, β = 0.274, p = .001). Emotional awareness was associated with academic grades, focus under distraction correlated with motivation, and emotional control supported stress management. However, some anticipated associations were not statistically significant. Faculty members recognized the importance of SEL but faced challenges such as large class sizes, limited time, and insufficient training, which hindered consistent implementation. Overall, while SEL did not account for all aspects of student outcomes, its influence in Skardu is notable, even in the absence of formal programming.
Socio-emotional learning, academic success, behavioural outcomes, higher education, CASEL framework, District Skardu
Copyright (c) 2026 Marzia Zainab, Dr. M. Arshad Dahar, Dr. Qaisara Parveen, Dr. Safdar Hussain https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Power and Ideology in Donald Trump’s Address to the Nation on the Iran War (April 2, 2026): A Transitivity Analysis
The present study examines the transitivity patterns within the framework of systemic functional linguistics to analyze how different linguistics choices create meaning in discourse. The data consist of the speech delivered by American president Donald Trump when he addresses to the nation on the Iran war on 2nd April 2026. The selected speech was transcribed by using You Tube transcription tool and the clauses were identified and classified into different types of processes such as material, relational, mental, verbal, behavioral and existential processes. The results show that process types are deliberately used to show actions, beliefs, identities, communication, behaviors, and existence in distinct ways. Material process and mental process are used frequently to show representation of actors and actions, identity formation, and assessment within discourse. Moreover, the analysis illustrates that transitivity choices play a role in the construction of power relations and ideological significance by highlighting certain actors, viewpoints and societal realities. The study draws a conclusion that transitivity analysis is a strong linguistic tool for revealing how discourse functions as a mode of representation, stance shaping and ideological significance.
Transitivity, ideology, material process, systemic functional linguistic, relational process, participants
Copyright (c) 2026 Sahifa Fatima, Behzad Anwar, Nukhba Javed https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Effect of Financial Reporting Quality on Investment Decision Effectiveness: The Moderating Role of Investor Financial Literacy
This paper aims to investigate the impact of financial reporting quality on the effectiveness of investment decision and to analyze the moderating role of financial literacy among investors between financial reporting quality and effectiveness of investment decision making. The study is based on Decision Usefulness Theory which posits that quality financial reporting will positively contribute to better investment decisions through reduction of information asymmetry, transparency improvement, and provision of reliable, decision-useful information. It also posits that financially educated investors understand how to interpret accounting information and how to use these to make effective investment decisions. The research design in this study was quantitative and deductive with a total of 239 individual investors were selected as the samples using purposive sampling. SPSS was used to analyze the data, including regression analysis and moderation analysis. The results show financial literacy directly enhances effective investment decisions as well as the effect of financial reporting quality being significant and positive on investment decisions' effectiveness. Furthermore, there was significant positive impact of financial literacy on the relationship linking financial reporting quality with the effectiveness of investment decisions as proxied by the worth gain ratio, suggesting that better investment decision effectiveness is more likely to come from high-quality financial reporting and that this relationship is enhanced by financial literacy. This study contributes to Decision Usefulness Theory by adding investor capability as well as accounting information quality, and it adds to literature on Behavioral Finance by promoting financial literacy not only as a direct determinant, but also as a moderating effect. The research has practical implications for regulators and the corporate and financial sectors looking to enhance reporting transparency, investor competence and, overall, market efficiency, and for educators striving to design programs aware of such developments. The findings validate all the hypotheses and suggest improving the disclosure quality in addition to investor education programmes for rational and informed investment decision. Globally capital markets developing & enhancing stakeholder confidence.
Financial Reporting Quality; Investment Decision Effectiveness; Financial Literacy; Decision Usefulness Theory
Copyright (c) 2026 Fraz Ahmed Shaikh https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Involvement of Parents and Teachers in managing Test Anxiety among Secondary School Students in Rawalpindi
Test anxiety is a major psychological challenge that affects the academic performance and emotional well-being of secondary school students. This study aimed to measure the level of test anxiety among secondary school students and examine the involvement of parents and teachers in managing test anxiety in Rawalpindi. A quantitative descriptive survey design was employed and a purposive sampling technique was used to select 248 respondents, including 104 students, 40 teachers, and 104 parents. Three self-developed questionnaires were used to collect the data. The collected data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. The findings revealed that secondary school students experienced moderate to high levels of test anxiety, with fear of poor examination performance, nervousness before examinations, and fear of making careless mistakes identified as the major sources of anxiety. The results further indicated that both parents and teachers played a positive role in managing students’ test anxiety by providing emotional support, encouragement, guidance, and a supportive learning environment. The study concludes that stronger parent-teacher collaboration and school-based counselling initiatives can effectively help reduce test anxiety and improve student’s academic and emotional well-being.
Test anxiety, Parental involvement, Teacher support, Secondary School Students, Rawalpindi, Academic performance
Copyright (c) 2026 Laraib Shakeel, Dr. M. Imran Yousuf, Dr. M. Arshad Dahar, Dr. Abid Ghafoor Chaudhary https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Situational Analysis of Early Childhood Education in Baltistan Region: Challenges and Prospects
Early Childhood Education (ECE) provides the foundation for children's cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development and contributes significantly to school readiness and lifelong learning. In Pakistan, ECE implementation and quality remain inconsistent despite national policy efforts, particularly in remote regions like Baltistan. This study presents a situational analysis of Early Childhood Education in the Baltistan region by identifying the major challenges faced by teachers, parents, and learners, while examining prospects for improving ECE practices. A convergent mixed-methods research design was used to gain a comprehensive understanding of the existing educational situation. Data were collected from 200 participants, (100 teachers and 100 parents) in private schools of District Skardu, through structured questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and classroom observations. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square tests, whereas qualitative data were analyzed through thematic analysis. The findings indicate that respondents acknowledged ECE’s growing importance and reported positive perceptions of classroom practices, lesson planning, and child-centered learning. However, the situational analysis revealed several persistent challenges, including inadequate infrastructure, shortages of trained teachers, limited resources, financial constraints, multilingual classroom, insufficient parental awareness, and inconsistent policy implementation. A significant relationship emerged between parental involvement and the challenges affecting ECE (χ² = 37.123, df = 4, p < .001), emphasizing the importance of active family participation in improving educational quality. Qualitative findings supported these results by highlighting the need for continuous teacher training, improved learning environments, stronger school-parent collaboration, and context-responsive policies. The study concludes that improving ECE in Baltistan requires coordinated efforts from policymakers, school authorities’ teachers, parents, and development organizations. The findings provide context-specific evidence for improving Early Childhood Education and offer practical directions for addressing existing challenges while promoting sustainable educational development in the Baltistan region.
Early Childhood Education, District Skardu, Baltistan, Educational Challenges, Educational Prospects, Parental Involvement, Teacher Perspective, Mixed Method Research, Educational Development, Private Schools
Copyright (c) 2026 Raheela Batool, Dr. Muhammad Arshad Dahar, Dr. Muhammad Imran https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Analyzing Corrective Feedback Practices and Perceptions of ESL Teachers: A Qualitative Study in a Private Secondary School in Karachi, Pakistan
Written corrective feedback (WCF) is a predominant but contentious practice in the ESL writing classroom because it is believed to be related to teachers' decisions and students' opportunity to notice, revise and regulate the language in use. This study examines the WCF practices and perceptions of ESL teachers in a private secondary school in Karachi, Pakistan focusing on the gap between what teachers perceive to be best practice in providing feedback and the actual feedback that is seen in marked student writing. A qualitative case study design was used in this research. The data sources were teacher questionnaire/interviews and document analysis of students' written assignments at the common genres in common schools including letter, essay, summary, character sketch and central-idea task across the grades VI-VIII. Four key themes of feedback form, feedback focus, genre sensitivity, and belief-practice congruence were examined using a process of thematic coding and writing-sample analysis. It is found that teachers appreciate WCF as a formative tool to enhance accuracy, confidence, self-correction, but class size, syllabus pressure, time constraints and varying degree of assessment literacy affect the implementation in the classroom. Both direct correction and indirect marking emerged, and feedback most often focused on grammar, punctuation, spelling, sentence structure and on the genre format. For written, while teachers reported that they were doing developmental feedback that was responsive to the genre, written samples indicated that the depth, specificity, and uniformity of feedback was somewhat inconsistent across grade levels and within tasks. The findings of this study highlight the need for a school-level WCF policy, consistent teacher feedback practices, common genre-specific rubrics, and an equitable emphasis on language accuracy, organization, content development, and learners' uptake of feedback.
Written Corrective Feedback; ESL Writing; Teacher Beliefs; Teacher Feedback Literacy
Copyright (c) 2026 Samira Ramzan, Dr. Qazi Arif Ali https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Acoustics of Gender and Regional Variation in Pakistani English: A Sociophonetic Analysis of Long Close Front Monophthong [i:]
This study provides an extensive sociophonetic investigation of the high front tense monophthongal vowel /i:/ properties in Pakistani English (PakE), by considering their spectral (F1, F2) and temporal (duration) characteristics across two genders and thirteen (13) regional variants. Speech data were achieved from 208 undergraduate students (104 males, 104 females) from major geographic areas of Pakistan. Vowel segments were automatically timed to the Montreal Forced Aligned Transcription of the data. Subsequently, the aligner (MFA) was followed by acoustic derivation on the basis of custom PRAAT scripts. To adjust for cross-speaker physiological disparity, formant and duration values were z-score normalized separately by gender. Statistical investigation used descriptive measures, two-way ANOVA (Region × Gender), and Tukey HSD post-hoc tests. The findings indicate that /i:/ is a highly acoustically stable sound in Pakistani English, with strong gender effects in spectral and rather weak gender effects in duration. Regional variation, even though statistically significant, is phonetically modest, evidencing the categorization of /iː/ as a stable and socially prominent vowel in Pakistani English influenced by prestige alignment and limited substrate impact.
Pakistani English, Sociophonetics, Vowel Acoustics, /iː/, Montreal Forced Aligner, PRAAT, Gender Variation, Regional Dialects
Copyright (c) 2026 Mumtaz Yaqub, Dr. Muhammad Kamal Khan, Dr. Rashida Imran https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Donald Trump's Truth Social Posts during the 2026 US–Israel War on Iran -A Critical Discourse Analysis through Fairclough's Three-Dimensional Model
This study conducts a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of Donald Trump's Truth Social posts published between February 28 and June 17, 2026, during the US–Israel joint military campaign against Iran, designated Operation Epic Fury. Drawing on Fairclough's (1992, 1995, 2003) Three-Dimensional Model, encompassing textual, discursive, and sociocultural dimensions. This mixed-methods study examines how Trump's social media discourse constructed ideological frames of American militarism, othering of Iran, and presidential exceptionalism. A purposive sample of 30 posts was selected and subjected to close linguistic analysis at the textual level (lexical choices, modality, transitivity, metaphor), discursive analysis examining production and consumption practices, and sociocultural analysis situating the posts within broader geopolitical and domestic political contexts. The findings reveal three dominant discursive strategies: militarist triumphalism, civilizational threat framing, and diplomatic coercion through digital performance. The study identifies a significant escalation rhetoric pattern in Trump's language, moving from martial declarations to civilizational annihilation threats before shifting to deal-making postures. The paper contributes to scholarship on political social media discourse, digital war rhetoric, and the use of informal communication channels by heads of state in active armed conflicts.
Critical Discourse Analysis, Fairclough, Truth Social, Trump, Iran War, Operation Epic Fury, political discourse, social media rhetoric, militarism, ideological framing
Copyright (c) 2026 Abdul Basit, Abdul Razzak, Shahar Bano https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Role of Digital Banking in Financial Inclusion: A Case of the Pakistan Banking Sector
Financial inclusion has become a goal for many countries that are still developing. It helps people get access to financial services and helps the economy grow. In Pakistan many people still don’t have access to banks. This is because of where they live, how money they have and the way the country is set up. New tools in digital banking are making it easier to reach more people with financial services that are easy to use, simple and cheap. This research looks at how digital banking helps people in Pakistan get access to financial services between 2010 and 2024. The research uses data from old reports. These reports come from the State Bank of Pakistan the World Bank, the Pakistan Economic Survey and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority. The main thing being studied is inclusion. The things that might affect it include banking transactions, mobile banking accounts, internet banking accounts, ATM machines and agents who offer banking without a physical branch. Other things like how the economy is growing how much prices are rising and the cost of borrowing are also looked at. The study uses a method called the ARDL approach to see how these things are connected over time. The study finds that digital banking has made it easier for more people, in Pakistan to access services. It has made it cheaper and easier to get help from banks. It has also reached people who were not connected before. The study says that leaders and banks should keep working on systems and help people learn more about using them. They should also support banking to help more people join the financial system and grow the economy in a better way.
Financial Inclusion, Digital Banking, Mobile Banking, Branchless Banking, Digital Transactions, ATM Network, Pakistan Banking Sector, ARDL
Copyright (c) 2026 Muhammad Haris, Ghazi Naseem, Dr. Muhammad Muzammil https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
From Capability to Sustainability: Managerial Ability, ESG Practices and Carbon Performance
The growing severity of climate change has increased pressure on firms to improve environmental sustainability and reduce carbon emissions. Although existing studies have examined the role of ESG practices in achieving sustainability objectives, limited attention has been given to how managerial capabilities contribute to corporate carbon performance and the mechanisms through which this relationship occurs. This study addresses this research gap by investigating the impact of managerial ability on carbon performance and examining the mediating role of ESG practices in the relationship between managerial capability and environmental outcomes. Using a longitudinal panel dataset of 180 non-financial firms listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange from 2016 to 2025, this study analyzes approximately 1,800 firm-year observations. Managerial ability is measured using the efficiency-based approach proposed by Demerjian et al. (2012), ESG practices are constructed through a comprehensive disclosure index, and carbon performance is assessed using firm-level carbon efficiency indicators. Empirical analysis employs fixed-effects regression, mediation analysis, and System Generalized Method of Moments (System GMM) to control unobserved heterogeneity and potential endogeneity issues. The findings indicate that managerial ability has a significant positive effect on corporate carbon performance, suggesting that capable managers are more effective in implementing environmental strategies and improving resource efficiency. Furthermore, managerial ability positively influences ESG practices, and ESG practices significantly enhance carbon performance. The mediation analysis confirms that ESG practices partially transmit the effect of managerial ability on carbon performance, highlighting the importance of sustainability-oriented organizational mechanisms. This study contributes to the literature by integrating Upper Echelons Theory, Resource-Based View, and Stakeholder Theory to explain how managerial capabilities are transformed into environmental improvements through ESG implementation. The findings provide valuable implications for managers, investors, and policymakers seeking to strengthen corporate sustainability practices and accelerate carbon reduction efforts in emerging economies.
Managerial ability; ESG practices; Carbon performance; Sustainability; Environmental management; Pakistan; Emerging markets
Copyright (c) 2026 Surayya Jamal, Muhammad Faizan Malik, Ahmad Zeb https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Impact of Beliefs on Contemporary Global Politics: The Role of Armageddon and Al-Malhama Al-Kubra in the Middle East Context
This article critically examines how eschatological beliefs specifically "Armageddon" and "Al-Malhama Al-Kubra"shape contemporary Middle Eastern conflicts. Moving beyond traditional secular politics, the study introduces "Prophetic Realism," a paradigm where global and regional actors justify military actions by executing a perceived divine script rather than adhering to international law. The research reveals that these religious narratives act as an active "Mythic Operating System," breeding societal "Apocalyptic Fatalism" and a perpetual war psychology. Ultimately, the article emphasizes the need to reclaim the true moral and spiritual essence of these texts, grounded in the Quran and Hadith, to counter their political and strategic misinterpretations.
Armageddon, Al-Malhama Al-Kubra, Contemporary Politics, Middle East, Prophetic Realism, Mythic Operating System, Apocalyptic Fatalism
Copyright (c) 2026 Asmat Ali Khan, Dr. Qaisar Bilal, Dr. Muhammad Shafiq (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Invisible Formulas: From Structural Knowledge to Procedural Craft in Lahori Kite Design
The traditional fighter kites of Lahore carried secrets of manufacture, which the kite makers guarded zealously from generation to generation. These sophisticated methods are an under-documented, inherited body of craft knowledge. Kite flying has historically been celebrated as a seasonal rooftop festival across Punjab. Yet the structural geometry remained unaddressed in the design literature. This research focused on the structural geometry and proportional methodology followed by the makers of traditional Lahori kites. The study draws on craft ethnography and field observations to analyse the structural and shape design of the Tukkal (meaning lantern) butterfly-shaped (Keller, n.d.), which were used to lift lanterns. The research identifies the typologies of several Lahore’s fighter kite variants. This examination of kite designs highlights the native design formulas, including bamboo types, sizes and the mould/frame locally called Farma. The research explores the design methods developed indigenously for Lahori kite-making. The study aims to preserve and transmit the intangible cultural heritage that is visibly declining due to regulations and restrictions on kite flying in Lahore. The research documented and proposed diagrams of structural principles to preserve the endangered design and craft knowledge. It offers fresh insight and minute details for future apprentices into heritage living design practices through vernacular and cultural craft and design legacies of South Asia.
Tukkal Kite-making, South Asia, Tradition, Vernacular Design, Culture, Lahore
Copyright (c) 2026 Dr. Syed Farjood Ailya Rizvi, Dr. Atifa Usmani, Ayesha Latif https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Negotiating Tradition and Modernity: An Ethnographic Study of Social Institutions, Customary Governance, and Socio-Economic Transformation among the Sadozai Tribe of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan
The Sadozai (Sudhan) tribe of Azad Jammu and Kashmir represents one of the historically significant tribal communities in Pakistan, where traditional institutions continue to shape social, political, economic, and cultural life despite increasing modernization. This study explored the contemporary socio-economic and political organization of the Sadozai tribe, with particular emphasis on social organization, customary governance, kinship, identity, gender roles, livelihood strategies, and institutional transformation. A qualitative ethnographic research design was employed using purposive sampling. Data were collected from 30 households through semi-structured interviews, field observations, and informal discussions involving tribal elders, household heads, religious scholars, women, and educated youth. Thematic analysis was used to identify major patterns and institutional dynamics. The findings revealed that tribal identity remains strongly anchored in lineage (90%), oral traditions, Islamic values, and collective historical memory, while 93% of respondents considered tribal identity more important than political affiliation. The joint family system, kinship networks, and reciprocal social obligations continue to strengthen social cohesion. Traditional institutions, particularly the Sardar and Jirga, remain influential, with 90% of respondents expressing confidence in the Jirga as the preferred mechanism for conflict resolution. Economic organization has diversified beyond agriculture through labour migration (93%), military service, government employment, and small businesses, leading to improved household livelihoods. Although patriarchal norms persist, 82% of participants perceived improvements in women's social status due to education and employment opportunities. Modernization has expanded education (93%), communication (95%), and employment (88%), but has also contributed to the decline of oral traditions (79%). The study concludes that the Sadozai tribe demonstrates remarkable institutional resilience by integrating customary governance and cultural traditions with contemporary socio-economic development. These findings contribute to socio-cultural anthropology by providing empirical evidence of how indigenous tribal institutions adapt while preserving cultural continuity and social cohesion in a rapidly changing society.
Azad Jammu and Kashmir, socio-cultural anthropology, social organization, Jirga, customary governance, and cultural identity
Copyright (c) 2026 Qirat Naz, Dr. Arbab Alam Khan https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Narrative Analysis of Thomas Hardy’s The Three Strangers: An Application of Roland Barthes’s Five Codes
This study offers a structural narrative analysis of Thomas Hardy's short story The Three Strangers through the lens of Roland Barthes's five narrative codes: the hermeneutic, proairetic, semantic, symbolic, and cultural codes. By employing Barthes's semiotic framework, the research investigates how Hardy constructs suspense, develops characterization, and generates multiple layers of meaning within the narrative. Using a qualitative textual analysis, the study examines the interplay of mystery, sequential actions, symbolic oppositions, recurring motifs, and cultural references that shape readers' interpretation of the text. The findings reveal that the hermeneutic code sustains narrative tension through the gradual disclosure of the strangers' identities and intentions, while the proairetic code advances the plot through a carefully arranged sequence of actions. The semantic and symbolic codes enrich the narrative by assigning deeper connotative meanings to characters, settings, and motifs, particularly those associated with law, justice, community, and identity.
Thomas Hardy; The Three Strangers; Roland Barthes; Five Codes; Narrative Analysis; Structuralism; Semiotics; Hermeneutic Code; Proairetic Code; Victorian Literature
Copyright (c) 2026 Unsa Kaleem https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0