Plagiarism Policy

The Pakistan Journal of Islamic Research (PJIR) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity and ethical research. The journal follows the applicable plagiarism and research-integrity guidelines of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan and expects all authors, editors, and reviewers to uphold these standards.

Originality of Manuscripts

All manuscripts submitted to the Pakistan Journal of Islamic Research must be original and must not contain plagiarism, duplicate publication, or substantial unattributed use of previously published material.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that all ideas, words, data, arguments, figures, and other material taken from other sources are appropriately acknowledged and cited. Any use of another person's work without proper attribution may constitute plagiarism.

Manuscripts that have been published previously, or are simultaneously under consideration by another journal, should not be submitted to PJIR unless the circumstances have been fully disclosed to the Editorial Office and the journal has expressly permitted such submission.

Similarity Screening

All submitted manuscripts are screened for text similarity using Turnitin or another appropriate plagiarism-detection system as part of the journal's initial editorial assessment.

The similarity report is reviewed by the editorial team. A similarity percentage is not, by itself, considered proof of plagiarism. The editors assess the nature, source, extent, and context of the similarities identified in the report.

Legitimate quotations, references, commonly used terminology, titles, standard expressions, and appropriately cited material may contribute to the similarity score and will be assessed accordingly.

Where the similarity report indicates substantial unattributed material or potential plagiarism, the manuscript may be returned to the author(s) for clarification or revision. Depending on the seriousness of the issue, the manuscript may also be rejected.

Plagiarism Identified Before Publication

If plagiarism or significant unattributed copying is identified before publication, the Editorial Board will assess the case and may:

• request an explanation or clarification from the author(s);
• require appropriate revision and correction of the manuscript;
• reject the manuscript; or
• take other appropriate action in accordance with the journal's publication ethics and research-integrity procedures.

For serious cases, the journal may notify the author's affiliated institution or other relevant authority where appropriate.

Plagiarism Identified After Publication

If plagiarism or serious academic misconduct is discovered after an article has been published, the Editorial Board will investigate the matter and take appropriate corrective action based on the circumstances and seriousness of the case.

Such action may include:

• publication of a correction;
• publication of an expression of concern;
• retraction of the article; or
• removal of the article from the journal's website in exceptional circumstances where this is necessary and consistent with applicable ethical and publishing standards.

Where plagiarism is established, the journal may notify the authors' affiliated institution or relevant authorities.

Author Responsibility

By submitting a manuscript to the Pakistan Journal of Islamic Research, authors confirm that:

1. the submitted work is their original work;
2. all sources have been appropriately acknowledged and cited;
3. the manuscript has not been published elsewhere in substantially the same form;
4. the manuscript is not simultaneously under consideration by another journal; and
5. they have obtained the necessary permissions for any copyrighted third-party material included in the manuscript.

The journal reserves the right to take appropriate action where a breach of academic integrity is established.

The Pakistan Journal of Islamic Research considers plagiarism a serious violation of academic ethics and is committed to protecting the integrity and credibility of the scholarly record.