Pakistan Languages and Humanities Review

Camera, Body and Genome: An Ecosocial and Technofeminist Analysis of Villar’sGaza Medic and Alaqad’s The Eyes of Gaza

2026-05-22T14:47:49+05:00

This research examines the intersection of medicine, technology, and the humanities in contemporary war, highlighting how political violence is experienced, mediated, and embodied in Gaza. Rather than treating war solely as a military or political event, the study views it as a multifaceted issue encompassing medical, technological, and ethical aspects. It highlights how injured people, failing healthcare systems, and different ways of beholding become key to comprehending its influence. This study uses two memoirs for analysis: Richard Villar’s Gaza Medic, a doctor’s memoir recording medical practices under blockade, and PlestiaAlaqad’sThe Eyes of Gaza, a Palestinian journalist’s chronicles of gendered and emotive ways of perception in wartime. These works integrate medical occurrences, technologies, and individual testimonies, and foreground a counter discourse to prevalent health, media, and humanitarian discourses. This research employs the Ecosocial lens by Nancy Krieger to express how structured scarcity, degradation of the ecosystem, and conflict-related atrocities are biologically and psychologically epitomized as trauma(s), illnesses, and damages. To examine the role of technologies in creating visibility stratifications and agency, this study uses Judy Wajcman’s technofeminism. The results prove that the Israel-Palestine war works as a community-based turbulence in which bodies accumulate violence gradually, while digital and medical technology instantaneously authorize medical and ethical care, and mediate international discernment.

Electoral Integrity and Electoral Process in Pakistan: Democratic Issues and Challenges

2026-05-22T16:04:48+05:00

This study critically examines electoral integrity and the electoral process in Pakistan, focusing on the democratic challenges affecting free and fair elections. The objective of the study is to analyze how anti-democratic practices, elite influence, institutional weaknesses, and administrative irregularities undermine electoral credibility and democratic development. Using a qualitative research approach, the study analyzes past electoral processes, political developments, and scholarly perspectives to identify patterns of electoral manipulation and governance challenges. Particular attention is given to pre-election interference, political engineering, electoral restrictions, and selective accountability mechanisms. The research further explores how these practices weaken public trust, hinder democratic consolidation, and contribute to political instability in Pakistan. The study concludes that strengthening electoral integrity requires institutional independence, transparent electoral reforms, effective accountability mechanisms, and greater democratic participation to ensure a credible and sustainable democratic system in Pakistan

Examining the Contemporary Geopolitical Trends of the Central Asian Diasporic Labor Market in the Aftermath of the Russo-Ukrainian War

2026-05-25T16:40:42+05:00

Labor migration is an integral component of the Central Asian political economy, and most of such migration takes place to Russia. Based on the legacy of the Soviet era, Russia has been able to absorb millions of Central Asian migrants, which has helped in sustaining the lives of the people in the region. However, the recent economic crisis in Russia, stringent migration policies coupled with the political instability in the region due to the Ukrainian crisis have resulted in the diversification of the destinations of the Central Asian migrants who are currently opting for Turkey, South Korea, and the Gulf countries. The paper discusses various relevant factors along with assessing the consequences of the said diversification of the migration destinations. It identifies that, on the economic front, the wage gap and employment opportunities in South Korea, the demand for labor in the Gulf countries, and the service industry in Turkey have provided new opportunities for the migrants whereas, on the political front, the instability in Russia has resulted in the weakening of her political power hence bringing down the trust level of probable migrants over Russia. On the social aspect, the presence of diasporas, linguistic and religious ties facilitate the process of integration in Turkey. Remittances from South Korea and the Gulf countries have provided diversity in sources of income. The study finds that the migration diversification has profound geopolitical consequences as well. The power of Russia is declining, and this is creating a new order. Turkey is trying to expand its power based on the Turkic factor. Similarly, South Korea is creating a new order as a financial partner and culture. The Gulf countries are trying to use remittances as a financial center. In the context of dependency, soft power, and the construction of the nation-state, this research establishes that the issue of labor migration is not only economic but also has geopolitical implications for the changes occurring in the politics of Central Asia. The study recommends that there is a possibility of risks and opportunities, and it is important that the countries of Central Asia manage their dependencies over various countries while ensuring the rights of migrants and the security of their remittances.

Multilingual Identity Construction in Pakistani Instagram Discourse: An SFL and Emoji-Based Analysis

2026-06-02T21:32:22+05:00

The rapid growth of digital social networks has transformed online platforms into significant spaces for identity construction and negotiation. This study investigates how Pakistani Instagram users construct social, emotional, and ideological identities through language, emojis, and multilingual digital practices. The study is limited to Instagram comments collected from selected Pakistani social media posts. A qualitative descriptive-analytic approach was employed to analyse approximately 115 Instagram comments from ten purposively selected posts on relationships, politics, social issues, entertainment, and beauty standards. The analysis was guided by Halliday's (1993) Systemic Functional Linguistics and Dresner and Herring's (2010) functional perspective on emojis. The findings reveal that users strategically employ evaluative language, stance-taking, emojis, code-mixing, and lexical borrowing to negotiate multiple identities in online interaction. Emojis function as meaningful pragmatic resources rather than merely decorative symbols. The study highlights the multimodal and multilingual nature of Pakistani Instagram discourse and recommends further research using larger datasets and multiple social media platforms.

Digital Diplomacy: Navigating the Cyber War in International Affairs

2026-06-04T14:25:40+05:00

Cyberspace is rapidly changing the face of international relations, creating new forms of conflicts, competitions and diplomacy of which states are still only now gaining a full understanding of and control over. In this study, the term digital sovereignty is discussed in the context of the present cyber warfare and is analyzed based on several recent literatures and sources from academia that present it as a new method of state diplomacy to attempt at the solution to ever increasing cyber-warfare threat to the States. The research is qualitative and descriptive and based on secondary sources only, it focuses on some of the main themes in cyber diplomacy, namely the development of cyber diplomacy, salient cyber incidents, international frameworks for cyber governance and attribution and regulation in cyberspace. Security is found to be an integral part of twenty-first century foreign policy and that digital sovereignty combined with strong cyber diplomacy is an adequate measure to counter cyber threats as military deterrence or technical defense have proven themselves to be insufficient measures.

Profiling through Language: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Interrogation and Power in Netflix's Mindhunter

2026-06-04T14:29:01+05:00

This study examined the use of language to construct and contest power relations in interrogation dialogues in Netflix's Mindhunter (2017–2019). The series dramatises the early FBI efforts at criminal profiling, where interrogation scenes with convicted serial killers highlight the role of discourse in negotiating authority, resistance, and identity. This study employed a qualitative CDA framework drawing on Fairclough's (1995) three-dimensional model and Van Dijk's (2006) framework of power in discourse. Selected scenes with Ed Kemper, Jerry Brudos, and Richard Speck were analysed for speech acts, turn-taking patterns, modality, and lexical strategies. The findings revealed that FBI agents frequently employ directives and controlling discourse to assert dominance. At the same time, the killer subjected resistance through question reversal, lexical elevation, narrative expansion, strategic rupture, and nihilistic minimisation, sometimes decisively destabilising institutional power. This indicated that criminal profiling is not a one-sided process but a discursively co-constructed practice. The study contributed to discourse studies, forensic linguistics, and media analysis by revealing how dramatised interrogations imitate and reproduce broader cultural understandings of crime, authority, and the epistemology of investigative language.

Women's Empowerment and Political Participation in Pakistan: Implications for SDG 5

2026-06-06T13:03:02+05:00

This research aims to evaluate the link between the empowerment of women in Pakistan and their involvement in politics using Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5) as an analytic tool; the goal of SDG 5 is to create equal opportunities between men and women regarding political participation and thus achieve equal rights for both genders in all spheres of life. The study also evaluates the benefits of women's political participation both to the development of democracy and the promotion of Pakistan as a nation-state with a positive international standing. A qualitative data analysis of historical and contemporary barriers preventing women from participating in politics (such as societal norms perpetuated by patriarchy, economic dependence, and exclusion from formal decision-making) was completed using secondary collection methods. The research policy framework used in this study identifies many areas where significant improvement can be made; however, many obstacles remain for women despite the constitutional protections provided. Digital activism has created greater awareness of the need for women to participate in politics, and pressure has been placed on countries by international agencies, resulting in some marginal gains made by women. The findings of this study support the claim that by empowering women politically, the stability of democracy will be enhanced and the image of Pakistan in the international community will benefit. The study also provides several recommendations, including: 1) stronger policies for women's political participation; 2) expanding educational reforms; and 3) increased institutional support for women's political participation

CLT-CALL Integration for Communicative English Readiness among Pakistani Students

2026-06-06T13:05:47+05:00

This quantitative study examines the impact of instructional materials, pedagogical approaches, and technological gap in the teaching of English. In total, 145 intermediate learners from a local institution in Lahore, Pakistan, were involved in the study. The study comprised four steps: 1. English Language Learning Challenges Survey; 2. Contextual Briefing; 3. Training; and 4. CLT-CALL Integration Survey. The Challenges Survey was used to determine the main obstacles in the students’ English language learning. A contextual briefing phase facilitated understanding of the elements and nuances of integrating CLT and CALL as potential solutions to their challenges. The participants were given four training sessions in which CLT activities were conducted through CALL with iSpring Suite Software, including role-playing, dialogues and discussion sessions. Lastly, the CLT-CALL Integration Survey assessed students’ challenges and their thoughts about integrating CLT and CALL as a solution to their challenges. The findings reveal that the problems encountered by Pakistani intermediate ESL learners include fluency issues, inadequate teaching strategies, and cultural barriers. The results also show that the integration of CLT-CALL is positively accepted by the students, and they believe this integration could be highly effective for learning English as a second language (ESL). Furthermore, this study provides pedagogical suggestions to students, teachers, and education researchers.

The Impact of Social Media on Political Polarization in Pakistan: A Case Study of GCWUS Students

2026-06-07T19:59:00+05:00

The purpose of the study is to investigate how social media algorithms affect public opinion and political polarization in Pakistan. Polarization is caused by a number of indicators, including economic strategies, social concerns, and wide-ranging societal ramifications. Although social media can help create a more balanced society, in Pakistan, its use is fostering political biases through disinformation, which exacerbates political polarization. This study is descriptive in nature and quantitative approach has been used. The target population of this study was the female students of BS and MS Programme of Social Sciences faculty of GCWUS. Maximum sample size, by using Cochran Formula of this study was calculated 333 and the responses received were 341. The data was collected with the help of conducting survey designed by Google Form. Students of final semesters were taken as study sample by using Cochran’s Formula for taking sufficient sample size from the population. Political biasness and intolerance are observed very common among youth by conducting survey. The study recommends developing new policies to protect the youth from being exploited by social media or political parties.

Beyond Biological Determinism: A Comparative Study of Female Situated Identity in Plath's The Bell Jar And Shah's Before She Sleeps

2026-06-09T13:51:23+05:00

The scholarly article presents a feminist inquiry to examine how the medical and biological sciences have shaped the experiences of women in Plath’s The Bell Jar and Shah's Before She Sleeps. Feminist theorists of medicine argue that considering men independent due to their bodily anatomy is the one side of the coin. Women should not be defined on the basis of their biological functioning and gender. They argue that such a framework ignores the importance of culture, knowledge, geography, and power relations. To support the analysis, the study draws upon Donna Haraway's concept of situated knowledge where she questions deterministic and universal claims of traditional science. Haraway proposes a feminist model of knowledge that values situated knowledge which states that meaning is produced from a specific culture, history, and social standpoints in which an entity resides. In The Bell Jar, Esther Greenwood’s encounter with psychiatric institutions exposes how women's emotional and intellectual struggles are pathologized under the guise of medical authority. Dr. Gordon carries out electric shock therapy which is devoid of understanding of Esther's personal and social context. In contrast, Dr. Nolan, who is a female psychiatrist, approaches Esther’s condition with empathy and care. Similarly, in Before She Sleeps, Shah envisions a dystopian society where women are reduced to their reproductive functions by medical and political powers. The only purpose of women in the Green City is to produce children to maintain the population but this causes extreme distress and psychosis in women. On the other hand, the women of Panah resist this reductionist logic by creating a community that values autonomy, solidarity, and acknowledgement of personal histories.