Insights of Pakistan, Iran and the Caucasus Studies http://ipics.rmrpublishers.org/index.php/primarycontent <p><strong>Insights of Pakistan, Iran and the Caucasus Studies (IPICS)</strong> is a double-blind peer-reviewed multidisciplinary open-access academic journal with HEC-recognition of Y-Category (<strong>ISSN-Print</strong>: 2958-5112 and <strong>ISSN-Online:</strong> 2958-5120) that has to publish quarterly (from November 01, 2023) from Islamabad (Pakistan). The nature of its publication is quadrilingual, and it facilitates English, Urdu, Persian and Russian readers globally. The major site of research concerns Pakistan, Iran and the contemporary Caucasus – the independent states of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, and the North Caucasian republics and regions within the Russian Federation. Journal also covers, but are not confined to:</p> <ul> <li>The Kashmir Dispute</li> <li>Badakhshan region or Badakhshan/Pamir Mountain range</li> <li>Foreign relations between Pakistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Russia</li> <li>Afghan political crisis and its impacts on Pakistan and Iran</li> <li>Political Economy of the Caspian Sea</li> <li>Socio-cultural ties among Turkic communities in Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Karakalpakstan Autonomous Region of Uzbekistan and other Central Asian Republics</li> <li>The de facto entities of Abkhazia and South Ossetia</li> <li>The Nagorno Karabakh Conflict</li> <li>The Autonomous Republic of Kalmykia</li> <li>Other countries or regions, economically, culturally, geographically and/or politically associated with Pakistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Russia</li> <li>Russia-Ukraine Conflict; especially focusing upon the Political Economy of Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk</li> <li>Issues relating to the Cossacks, the Meskhetian Turks, Nogais and Caucasian diasporas in Turkey, the Middle East and the Euro-Atlantic space.</li> <li>Chinese Interests (especially within the context of Belt and Road Initiative) towards Pakistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Russia</li> </ul> <p><strong>IPICS</strong> aims to advance an area studies tradition in the humanities and social sciences about and from Pakistan, Iran and the Caucasus, connecting this tradition with core disciplinary concerns in the fields of modern history, political science, anthropology, cultural and religious studies, political economy, human geography, conflict and peace studies, and sociology. Research covering Pakistan, Iran and the Caucasus-related dimensions of South Asian, Central Asian, Middle Eastern and European politics, society, culture and history also fall within the remit of the journal <strong>IPICS</strong> publishes original research articles, review articles, policy discussions on strategic issues, interviews, biographical sketches, memoirs, archive documents, research notes, recent fieldwork narratives and book reviews.</p> <p><strong>Further Sections:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Constitutional and Legislative Studies in Pakistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Russia;</li> <li>Economic Development, Economic and Financial Institutions, Corporate Finance, Consumer Finance, Financial Markets, Markets Complexities, Social Markets, Regional and/or International Trade, Foreign Direct Investment(s), and Micro/Macro Economic Strategies in Pakistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Russia;</li> <li>Education systems and different issues (such as, School Engagement, Drop Out Ratio, etc.) within the educational spheres in Pakistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Russia;</li> <li>Ethno-National, Progressive and/or Reformist Movements in the Pakistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Russia;</li> <li>Formal and Informal Judicial/Legal System(s) in Pakistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Russia;</li> <li>Foreign Policy of Pakistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Russia;</li> <li>Gender Studies including women empowerment in Pakistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Russia;</li> <li>Geopolitics of South Asia, Middle East, Eurasia, Central Asia and the Caucasus within the context of Pakistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Russia;</li> <li>History and Historiography related to Pakistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Russia;</li> <li>Ideologies and Philosophies emerged or emerging in Pakistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Russia;</li> <li>Interaction of Civilizations and Cultures in the Pakistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Russia;</li> <li>Literature in Pakistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Russia;</li> <li>Logistics and Transportation in Pakistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Russia;</li> <li>Policies of International Organizations related to Pakistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Russia;</li> <li>The policy of the Major States and other countries related to Pakistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Russia;</li> <li>Political, Socio-Economic and other processes in Pakistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Russia;</li> <li>Public Administration, Public Policy Mechanisms, Human Resource Management, Human Resource Development, Bureaucratic Studies and distinct tools of Governance in Pakistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Russia;</li> <li>Religions and interfaith relations in Pakistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Russia;</li> <li>Social statistics (such as economic statistics, demographics statistics, price statistics, urban/rural statistics, developmental statistics, innovative statistics, tourism statistics, etc.) and other Quantitative Studies through statistical means in Pakistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Russia;</li> </ul> <h3>Open Access Policy</h3> <p><strong>IPICS</strong> journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.</p> RMR Publishers en-US Insights of Pakistan, Iran and the Caucasus Studies 2958-5120 A Concise Overview of the Era of Maulana Rumi and His Masnavi Ma’navi http://ipics.rmrpublishers.org/index.php/primarycontent/article/view/104 <p>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.</p> Dr. Ghulam Asghar Copyright (c) 2025 Insights of Pakistan, Iran and the Caucasus Studies https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 2025-08-01 2025-08-01 4 3 15 22 When Afghanistan-Iran Trade Masks Human Insecurity: Investigating Compromised De-Marginalisation of Farsiwan and Hazara under Taliban 2.0 http://ipics.rmrpublishers.org/index.php/primarycontent/article/view/103 <p>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 &amp; Zaheer (2025), Gulejami &amp; 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.</p> Asfandyar Ayaz Dr. Muhammad Asim Copyright (c) 2025 Insights of Pakistan, Iran and the Caucasus Studies https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 2025-08-01 2025-08-01 4 3 1 14 A Prophetic Model of Sustainable Urbanism for an Ideal Islamic State like Pakistan: Perspectives from Non-Muslim Western Scholars http://ipics.rmrpublishers.org/index.php/primarycontent/article/view/105 <p>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.</p> <p>Not only Muslims, but numerous non-Muslim Western scholars, such as Markus Daechsel (2015), Stefan Maneval (2019) and Francois Gauthier &amp; 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.</p> Dr. Muhammad Asim Copyright (c) 2025 Insights of Pakistan, Iran and the Caucasus Studies https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 2025-08-01 2025-08-01 4 3 23 32 The Importance of Rhetorical Leadership for Managers During Times of Uncertainty in Pakistan http://ipics.rmrpublishers.org/index.php/primarycontent/article/view/107 <p>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.</p> Iqra Farheen Warda Najeeb Jamal Copyright (c) 2025 Insights of Pakistan, Iran and the Caucasus Studies https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 2025-08-31 2025-08-31 4 3 33 52