Insights of Pakistan, Iran and the Caucasus Studies

When Afghanistan-Iran Trade Masks Human Insecurity: Investigating Compromised De-Marginalisation of Farsiwan and Hazara under Taliban 2.0

Asfandyar Ayaz — 2025-08-01

Since the resurgence of the Taliban on August 15, 2021, Afghanistan has witnessed a reconfiguration of internal power dynamics, exhibited by deep human security issues -- specifically for ethnoreligious minorities who endured systemic exclusion under the Taliban’s first regime. These insecurities, rather than curtailing solely from direct violence, are deeply rooted in structures of socio-political and economic inequality, associating with Galtung’s (1969) theory of structural violence wherein deprivation becomes normalised through institutional silence and selective governance. In this context, the Iran-Afghanistan barter trade agreement --formally ratified on December 28, 2022 -- emerged as a fundamental mechanism that redefined the Taliban’s stance towards the Hazara, affording them conditional developmental privileges in Hazarajat regions such as Bamyan, Daikundi and parts of Ghazni, in exchange for sustained trade access and geopolitical calm. Simultaneously, the Farsiwan communities of Herat and adjacent borderlands including Islam Qala, Injil and Guzara, have experienced a detailed de-marginalisation as facilitators of cross-border commerce, benefiting from Iran’s strategic engagement in western Afghanistan. This emergent leniency has been tentatively noted in recent studies by Fakhrizadeh & Zaheer (2025), Gulejami & Zaheer (2025), and Darakhshan Afsari (2025), who highlight sectarian flexibility born of economic necessity rather than ideological reform. Methodologically, this study utilises a neo-colonial structural violence lens (Arian Sharifi, 2024), complemented by a synthesis of David Keen and Paul Collier’s conflict economy thesis (called Keen-Collier Approach), wherein “each ethnic community attains variable political and economic rights based on its locational influence and satisfaction level", ultimately proposing that such arrangements may incubate a reimagined Afghan social contract grounded in decentralised, multicultural cosmopolitanism. Accordingly, this study is guided by research questions concerning how trade-induced exceptions reshape governance narratives and what policy instruments can institutionalise equitable inclusion in post-conflict state-building.

A Prophetic Model of Sustainable Urbanism for an Ideal Islamic State like Pakistan: Perspectives from Non-Muslim Western Scholars

Dr. Muhammad Asim — 2025-08-01

The Islamic concept of an ideal state emphasizes sustainable urbanism as an essential component of societal well-being. The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), in his governance of Medina, championed principles of sustainable urbanism, urging Muslims to adopt measures such as equitable resource distribution, environmental preservation and social cohesion, while highlighting the significance of planting trees, conserving water and maintaining public welfare. By referencing Surah Al-Baqarah (2:205) and Surah AlA’raf (7:31), this study investigates the premise that the modern terminology surrounding “sustainable urbanism”, claimed to have been inaugurated by Susan Owens of Cambridge University (UK), has, in fact, been inherited from the Quran and the clear Prophetic examples demonstrated during his governance of Medina.

Not only Muslims, but numerous non-Muslim Western scholars, such as Markus Daechsel (2015), Stefan Maneval (2019) and Francois Gauthier & Birgit Krawietz (2024), have also acknowledged this historical fact. Hence, by utilizing David Harvey’s Theory of Urban Justice and postmodernism as theoretical frameworks, this study examines how occidentalist concepts of Ideal or Welfare state such as Brusselization, Californication, Hyper-Cognitive Urbanism and Vancouverism reflect pure Islamic urban philosophy, specifically as addressed by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Simultaneously, this study also identifies the roots of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within the Prophetic model, as derived from the Quran, for an ideal Muslim state like Pakistan.

The Importance of Rhetorical Leadership for Managers During Times of Uncertainty in Pakistan

Iqra Farheen — 2025-08-31

This paper explores the importance of rhetorical leadership for the managers, working in the service industry of Pakistan, in the uncertain times. In high-volatility industries, such as the hospitality industry, where operations are disrupted by external environmental factors and shocks, rhetorical leadership may play an important role as it focuses on persuasive communication which may keep the employees motivated and teams aligned. Hence, by interviewing 40 academicians and industry professionals at managerial positions, with the use of semi-structured interviewing technique, this qualitative study determines the importance of implementing rhetorical leadership to enable the managers sustain the morals of the employees and build resilience in the crisis situations. The results of the study indicate that rhetorical leadership is vital for managers navigating in uncertainty as it enables fostering a shared purpose and emotional resonance among teams, shaping organizational reality and cohesion to align employees with core values, empowering employees with clarity, confidence, motivation and accountability, reframing crisis into opportunities, last but not least, cultivating overarching resilience and adaptive capacity for organizational stability. Major practical implications of the study are to necessitate the indulgence of rhetorical leadership and its importance within real organizational settings, while the theoretical implications are enabling the study to fill the gaps in the leadership and communication literature.

A Concise Overview of the Era of Maulana Rumi and His Masnavi Ma’navi

Dr. Ghulam Asghar — 2025-08-01

Maulana Jalal-ud-Din Muhammad Rumi is a symbol of persian poetry. He wrote the Masnavi in seven volumes. He narrated the Mysticism first time in the tradition of Masnavi. This article presents a comprehensive aesthetic and intellectual study of the era of Rumi, focusing on the historical, social and spiritual contexts that shaped his thought and poetry. The study explores how the political and cultural dynamics of Rumi’s time influenced his metaphysical vision and poetic style. His Masnavi Ma’navi is regarded as a timeless masterpiece of Sufi literature, addressing themes such as divine love, self-realization, the unity of being, and moral transformation through allegorical storytelling and symbolic expression. This article also highlights how Rumi’s narrative technique and poetic symbolism provide readers with a deeply transformative spiritual experience.