Ownership, Governance and Management

  1. Ownership

Pakistan Journal of Health Sciences (PJHS; ISSN 2790-9352 online, 2790-9344 print) is owned by Lahore Medical Research Center LLP (LMRC), Lahore, Pakistan, and published on its behalf by CrossLinks International Publishers LLC, USA, which provides publishing services.

Editor-in-Chief. The Editor-in-Chief, holds no position at, and has no affiliation with, the owner or the publisher. Editorial decisions are made independently by the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board, based solely on scientific merit, peer review and the journal’s published policies. Neither the owner nor the publisher influences decisions on individual manuscripts, and the owner will not remove or put pressure on any editor because of an editorial decision.

Owner’s staff in the editorial office. The Managing Editors, are employed by LMRC. They manage administrative and production work, such as pre-checks, correspondence and scheduling, and have no role in the decision on any manuscript.

Manuscripts involving the owner. Manuscripts in which LMRC has an interest, including submissions by LMRC staff or concerning LMRC’s services, are handled entirely by editors with no role at the owner or publisher, through the journal’s normal review process for that article type. The owner’s staff have no access to the editorial records of these manuscripts.

The names and affiliations of the Editor-in-Chief, editors, Editorial Board, Advisory Board and committee members are published on the journal website

  1. Publisher

The journal is published on behalf of its owner by CrossLinks International Publishers LLC, Harrisonville, MO 64701, USA, under a publishing services agreement. The publisher is the Crossref member responsible for the journal’s DOI prefix (10.54393).

  1. Editorial Independence

All editorial decisions, including those on peer review, acceptance, rejection, corrections, expressions of concern and retractions, are made solely by the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board. Neither the owner nor the publisher influences editorial decisions. Commercial considerations, including article fees and advertising, have no bearing on editorial decisions. Editors and reviewers are not told whether authors have paid fees or requested a waiver.

Complaints about the Editor-in-Chief. Complaints about the Editor-in-Chief should be sent directly to complaints@thejas.com.pk. They are reviewed independently by a senior member of the Editorial Board who has no role at the owner or publisher, following COPE guidance. The Editor-in-Chief takes no part in handling the complaint and cannot overrule the outcome. The owner is informed of the outcome.

  1. Roles and Responsibilities

Owner – Lahore Medical Research Center LLP

  • Holds ownership of the journal title, ISSN and associated rights
  • Appoints the Editor-in-Chief and approves the composition of the Editorial Board
  • Approves journal policies, article processing charges and the waiver policy
  • Manages the journal’s finances and receives all article fees
  • Is responsible for national accreditation and recognition (HEC/HJRS, PMDC, CPSP)

Publisher – CrossLinks International Publishers LLC

  • Registers DOIs and deposits complete metadata with Crossref, including Crossmark updates for corrections and retractions
  • Hosts and maintains the journal website and Open Journal Systems platform, including machine-readable metadata for indexing services (OAI-PMH, Google Scholar)
  • Arranges long-term digital preservation through the PKP Preservation Network
  • Provides production services, including copyediting support, typesetting and PDF preparation
  • Is responsible for the journal’s international indexing, including preparing and submitting applications to Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed/MEDLINE, DOAJ and other bibliographic databases, and maintaining the journal’s metadata and compliance with their technical requirements, in consultation with the Editor-in-Chief.

Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board

  • Determine the journal’s editorial direction and scope
  • Manage the double-blind peer review process and make all publication decisions
  • Uphold the journal’s publication ethics policies in accordance with COPE and ICMJE guidance
  • Investigate allegations of misconduct and handle corrections, retractions, complaints and appeals
  • Maintain the editorial standards required by indexing services
  1. Governance

The Editorial Board consists of subject experts from national and international institutions. The names, affiliations and roles of all members are listed on the Editorial Team page. In accordance with HEC policy, the Editor-in-Chief, editors and editorial board members do not publish their own research articles in the journal.

  1. Revenue Sources

PJHS is funded by article processing and publication fees, sales of print copies and advertising, which is kept separate from editorial content. All fees are payable only to Lahore Medical Research Center LLP. Full details are on the Author Fees page.

  1. Contact

Editorial Office: Editor-in-Chief, Pakistan Journal of Health Sciences, editor@thejas.com.pk
Publisher: CrossLinks International Publishers LLC, USA.  info@clipllc.us
Owner: Lahore Medical Research Center LLP, Lahore, Pakistan. oric@lmrc.com.pk