This paper overviews the worth of English language learning in Pakistan through the lens of economic cost and benefit comparison. The value is explored from theoretical perspective, using the theoretical construct of economic value of a language proposed by Francois Grin, which is applied in conducted interviews and reviewing the existing literature on language policy and planning of Pakistan. The paper finds that English language, due to the colonial legacy, enjoyed a privileged position in sociopolitical structure of the nascent Pakistani state. The historical entrenchment of English language created a system of values ensuring its domination in sociopolitical domains. Values in these domains determined differentiated earnings, costs and benefits for sociopolitical strata of Pakistan. The historical evolution structured these domains in such a way that the incumbency of English overcame challenges to its privileged position. The current growth of English language predicts continuation of its global and local domination in the foreseeable future.

This paper analyses the management of foreign languages in the language planning of Afghanistan after the fall of Taliban. The analyses assess the suitability of foreign languages performing developmental and peace-making roles in domains where distribution of power is contested by the Afghan ethnolinguistic groups. Primary data of the paper comes from a questionnaire based survey and followup interviews. Analysis reveals the presence of various modern languages such as French, German, Russian and English in Afghanistan. The acceptance of foreign languages especially English is overwhelming in Afghanistan. Among foreign languages, English happens to be the most vigorous and promising language. However, a significant portion of Afghans oppose the growing influence and power for the foreign languages in Afghanistan. The paper notes, an uneven spread of English as the dominant foreign language in Afghanistan. Therefore, foreign languages' role in development and peacemaking may not be achieved due to lack of equal access. The paper recommends a wide-range of interventions to help in making foreign languages a resource for development and peacemaking. The intervention includes social, economic and political equality and equal opportunities in learning of foreign languages. It is also emphasised that the promotion of local languages is not to be affected by the availability of foreign languages.

Advertisements promote their products using different persuasive strategies. They are artwork that also represents society, and its culture, and inculcate different new ideologies. This research study is an exploration of the persuasive strategies in the Pakistani advertisements of various brands of products. In addition, this research study also analyses how media and advertisements affect Pakistani society. For this study, five advertisements are chosen from Print media. To these advertisements, many things are related and could consider such as the playing field for the brand, regarding marketing, advertising, and consumers for which the advertisers have their own favoured linguistic expression. However, the current study uses the analytical paradigm of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) for the evaluation of different brand advertisements, discussed by Norman Fair Clough (1995). The analysis of selected advertisements shows how linguistic and Meta linguistic features combine and play a key role in terms of making advertisements attractive to give a maximum number of consumers to the brand.

This paper explores the nature of conflict that unfolded between the supporters of traditionalist and modernist education in Tsarist Central Asia. The paper explores the viewpoint of each camp and explores the causes of such approach. The paper finds that the conflict or divergence was driven by the desire to ensure the protection of political and economic interests each camp cherished. While status quo offered traditionalists economic security and political power, the new order and industrialization that came to Central Asia in the wake of Tsarist conquests offered modernists a future in which their political power and economic prosperity was ensured. Both camps diverged in rationalizing education as means to sustaining their world view. However, they also converged in their instrumental approach to education. Arguments that each camp offered to support their vision of education are relevant to the debates between the modern and traditional education in the modern Muslim world, especially Pakistan.

Russian influence in Muslim Muslim Central Asia was far reaching. The transformational force of Russian presence first emerged in the administrative setup and governance, soon it spread to the domain of education and sociocultural symbols. The Muslim Central Asian society lost its connection with Muslim world in neighborhood as Russian alphabets, lexemes and structures. The Tsarist era initiated these changes but its scope remained limited. In quest for making the Muslim Central Asians emulate the role of “new Russian man” the Soviet era used force to popularize and cultivate Russian language and culture. However, the distrust among Russian diaspora and Muslim Central Asian local population was deep seated. Once the Soviet Union fell, the demographic and linguistic changes were attacked by nationalists. Despite the post-1991 attempts, Russian language is still dominant in Muslim Central Asia as compared to English and other modern European languages