Muhammad Rizwan Safdar

One of the most common congenital defects affecting the orofacial areas worldwide is cleft lip and/or cleft palate (CL/P), which causes a range of social, psychological, and medical challenges for affected children and their families. Several socio-cultural beliefs and superstitions are attached to this condition, but little is known about how CL/P is framed by Muslim parents. The religious, spiritual, and cultural construction of CL/P is a significant yet often overlooked aspect of the subject covered in this study. It also discusses how parents of children with CL/P use spirituality and religion as coping strategies. Through in-depth, semi-structured interviews, data were gathered from 21 parents of children with CL/P at a cleft care hospital in Lahore, the provincial capital of Punjab, Pakistan. The purposive sampling technique was used to ensure that participants had direct and relevant lived experience. By utilizing thematic analysis technique, four main and nine sub-themes were identified regarding parents' religio-spiritual and cultural construction of CL/P. In addition to understanding their children's condition through religious and cultural beliefs, the study also found that parents utilized religion and spirituality as coping mechanisms and saw CL/P as a ‘test’ from God. Many parents seemed to believe in superstitions embedded in Punjabi culture and associated CL/P with several cultural constructions and rituals. The study concludes that religious, spiritual, and cultural beliefs shape how Muslim parents in Punjab, Pakistan constructed and interpreted CL/P. Further, religious and spiritual belief gave optimism and courage to parents as they prayed to God for the quick recovery of their children.

Literature suggests that single parent households promote growing concern about how the family structure influence students’ academic performance. The present study was aimed at exploring and identifying the challenges and experiences of single parented students in Lahore. The qualitative data for the present study was collected from 14 participants of Government College University, Lahore who were single parented students. The participants of this study highlighted their educational challenges and experiences and how it affected their academic performance. The study findings indicated various challenges faced by single parented students. It was found that single parented students had quite different experiences in terms of difficulties faced by them as compared to students having both parents. Single parented students reported to had financial, social, psychological and emotional challenges and negative experiences like social stigmatization and bullying at different levels. However, the participants reported that they were able to deal with these challenges by adopting coping strategies such as involvement in sports activities, reading books, and doing part time jobs.

Religion and spirituality have been used as tools to cope with challenging life situations, including pregnancy. Pregnancy is a stressful event, and the fear of obstetric complications makes pregnant women vulnerable and susceptible to numerous psychological and physical challenges. The present research aims to understand how Muslim pregnant women in Punjab, Pakistan, use religion and spirituality to cope with pregnancy-related medical complications and ensure safe delivery and their child’s protection. The present research used a phenomenological research design using in-depth interviews as a way to gain insight into the religious and spiritual experiences of Muslim pregnant women. The data for this qualitative research came from 13 pregnant women. These participants shared five main themes about their religious and spiritual experiences during their pregnancy. The participants revealed religion and spirituality to cope with pregnancy-related vulnerabilities by offering Nawafil and Salah (prayers), recitation of Quranic verses, and the use of a rosary. They felt closer to God by practicing different religious rituals. Further, they sought spiritual support through Dum and giving charity to the needy. The study concludes that religious and spiritual practices offer comfort and hope to Muslim women during the pregnancy period by addressing their insecurities and vulnerabilities.

This paper will discuss the Punjab Sahulat Bazaars Authority (PSBA) as a commendable public welfare organization and an exceptional experience of converting a Section 42 company into a full-scaled statutory organization in the Pakistani retail market. The study bases its analysis on qualitative methodology in order to evaluate the legal, financial, and operational performance of PSBA based on official documents, governmental reports, independent media ratings, and third-party ratings. Innovative systems such as real time price boards, solarized infrastructure, inclusion of women traders in a policy of vendor and subsidy free operations were introduced in PSBA under the visionary leadership of Naveed Rafaqat Ahmad. Results show that PSBA continual surpasses similar organizations regarding price regulation and digital adoption and service provision by providing consumers with up to 35 percent savings on the market rates. The paper has concluded that PSBA is a rare manifestation of institutional reforms based on citizens, empowered by law, transparency in operation, and transformational leadership and can be a reference to emerging economies.

This paper investigates institutional reform in Pakistan’s public sector through the lens of authority-based governance models, with a specific focus on the Punjab Sahulat Bazaars Authority (PSBA). As the only government welfare organization in Pakistan to successfully transition from a Section 42 company into a fully statutory institution, PSBA demonstrates how legal empowerment, strategic leadership, and operational innovation can drive sustainable public service delivery. Using a qualitative documentary case-study approach, this study triangulates evidence from legislative texts, government records, independent audits, daily pricing data, and verified media sources to evaluate PSBA’s legal, financial, and operational performance. Under the strategic leadership of Naveed Rafaqat Ahmad, PSBA implemented transformative initiatives, including solar-powered markets, real-time digital price displays, women-inclusive vendor policies, and mobile bazaars serving underserved regions. These interventions enabled the Authority to provide essential goods at prices up to 35% below market rates without reliance on subsidies. The findings position PSBA as a transparent, citizen-responsive, and legally empowered institution, offering a replicable framework for institutional reform, governance innovation, and public welfare enhancement in emerging economies.

This paper discusses institutional change at the Punjab Sahulat Bazaars Authority (PSBA) that was a Section 42 company that changed into the only statutory agency that supplied subsidized basic commodities in Pakistan. The study is based on the official records, third-party evaluations, and government publications as the research is conducted with the help of a document-based qualitative methodology with an embedded quantitative analysis to evaluate PSBA in terms of its legal, financial, and operational framework. Results indicate that during the tenure of Naveed Rafaqat Ahmad, PSBA has been doing better than peer institutions in the price control, digital innovation, governance, and service delivery. The major projects are the price relief of up to 35 percent, the system of free home delivery all over the province, solarized bazaars, and the assistance of female traders. Benchmarking information proves the fact that PSBA is at the high level of performance and fiscal efficacy. The paper finds that PSBA transformation is a replicable study on the citizen-led reform within the Pakistani government and how a transformational leadership and legal empowerment strategy can be used to underpin institutional excellence in less-developed economies.

Punjabi stage dramas have been facing a negative reputation in recent years due to the obscenity of content presented in them, hence raising concerns about how they are misrepresenting Punjab’s culture. The humor in these dramas flourishes primarily through the humiliation of the women and objectification of their bodies. The present study aims to analyze how the Punjabi stage dramas objectify women and reinforce the negative gender stereotypes through humor. In order to investigate potential responses to the research question, this study employed a qualitative methodology and an inductive content analysis research technique. Upon closely observing and identifying recurring motifs in stage drama episodes, classifications were established and further analyzed to generate themes. The results of the study uncovered some alarming patterns in Punjabi stage dramas where the female body was sexualized and objectified through the use of different metaphors and jokes. The male characters were noticed mocking the female characters on their physique and especially their breast size, hence perpetuating a repulsive environment of misogyny and sexism. The study also discovered another side of masculinity where subordinate masculine roles were sexually harassed by the hegemonic masculine male characters. The study findings suggest an urgent need for the rectification of these problems by portraying a rather positive and practical image of the female gender that represents the cultural values of Punjab and one where their bodies are not objectified.

This study examines the relationship between various types of social capital (such as bonding, bridging, and linking social capital) and social well-being among youth in Pakistan. This study also explores whether self-efficacy moderates the relationship between three types of social capital (bonding, bridging, and linking social capital) and social well-being among youth in Pakistan. The data were collected from 852 students selected randomly from four public institutions in Punjab, Pakistan. The descriptive analysis was carried out using SPSS software. While, partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to check the structural relationships proposed in this study. The findings indicate that bonding, bridging, and linking types of social capital and self-efficacy have a significant direct relationship with social well-being of youth. Self-efficacy moderates the relationship between bonding social capital and social well-being. Similarly, self-efficacy moderates the relationship between bridging social capital and social well-being. Also, self-efficacy offsets the relationship between linking social capital and social well-being. The results are suggested to be useful references for the youth while improving social well-being.

Religion and spirituality have been key coping mechanisms of Pakistani Muslims amidst natural calamities such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to identify and explore the role of religion and spirituality in the recovery of COVID-19 patients in lower socioeconomics. The data for this qualitative research study were collected from 13 people in Pakistan who survived COVID-19 infection during the wave of the Omicron variant. The participants of this study referenced four key themes about their story of getting infected by COVID-19 and recovering from it and referenced religion and spirituality as an overarching aspect of that story. The patients who recovered believed that COVID-19 was a punishment from God for sinful humanity, which was unavoidable. Amidst such a belief, the studied patients tried to avoid hospitalization but prayed to God for mercy, forgiveness, and help in their recovery. A few who took medical treatment also established and/or strengthened their spiritual connections seeking quick recovery from the infection. The participants of this study believed that their religion or spirituality played a medicinal role in their recovery from COVID-19 infection.