http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/20502 2026-04-04T12:27:55Z 2026-04-04T12:27:55Z Imran Ul Haq, 01-285181-002 http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/20505 2026-01-23T04:53:01Z 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z

An Analysis of the Taliban Conflict in the Pakistani Press: A Perspective on Political Contest Theory Imran Ul Haq, 01-285181-002 This study has analyzed the role of the Pakistani press in terms of conflict reporting in an environment of diverse and contesting voices when Pakistan changed its policy toward Afghan Taliban and later in the case of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan from 2001 to 2015. Through a quantitative content analysis of prominent English and Urdu language newspapers’ coverage and by availing the conceptual frameworks of the political contest theory. The theory posits that at one corner of the scale, the ‘press serve as faithful servants to the authorities’, at the middle point of the scale, ‘the press performs the as ‘semi-honest brokers’ by providing challengers ample time and space and at the third corner, it may serve as advocate of the underdog by amplifying claims of challengers. This study examines how the contesting viewpoints of the political sources were mediated through the journalistic agency (Journalists’ professional judgement). The study examined coverage patterns during the three phases of the Taliban conflict. Although empirical findings indicate that the selected press provided proportionately more space to official sources during the conflict period, the results also suggest that dissenting voices got room to a considerable extent. The findings also reveal that the press treated the government and dissenting sources differently at different points in time. For instance, during the policy-shift phase, the government and opposition sources received 35% and 42% share respectively while during the Negotiation Phase, government received 47% and opposition sources received 23% share only. The scholarly domain of press-state relations has primarily examined the press performance (autonomy of press) of advanced countries during times of wars and conflicts. Most of the theories in this area have been developed in the United States and the two-party political environment. This dissertation goes some way to address this gap by examining the press performance in a multiparty political environment. The findings imply that governments in a multiparty political environment need to approach, engage and utilize the press in more nuanced ways to garner press support and political consensus. Secondly, so far, years-long studies that could map the press-state relations in conflicts (other than the Indo-Pak conflict) have been limited in the context of Pakistan. This thesis has thus also attempted to address this critical gap. Supervised by Dr. Shabir Hussain

2025-01-01T00:00:00Z Tabinda Sadiq, 01-285191-002 http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/20506 2026-01-23T05:15:38Z 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z

Reconciliation process between USA & Taliban in selected regional and the US press Tabinda Sadiq, 01-285191-002 This study analyses the framing of the reconciliation process between the United States and the Afghan Taliban. While reconciliation is seen as a key strategy to resolve the conflict in Afghanistan, the media's role in shaping public perception of this process needs to be examined. The current research focused on how media narratives, especially across different regions, contributed to these public perceptions. The goal was to (1) explore episodic and thematic frames used in media coverage, (2) examine the diversity of perspectives through sources and bylines in newspapers, and (3) assess how media portrays the success or failure of the reconciliation efforts in line with foreign policy of selected countries. Quantitative content analysis was used to conduct the study aimed to examine the media content from the US and regional countries (India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Iran, and Russia) between 2015 and 2020. The findings explicated significant framing differences, with newspapers such as The Dawn and The New York Times relying on official sources that shape discourse. The findings also indicated media bias toward narratives supporting national foreign policies, with a positive portrayal of reconciliation efforts, particularly between 2017 and 2020. Supervised by Dr. Syed Abdul Siraj

2025-01-01T00:00:00Z Zarmina Gull, 01-285181-003 http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/20507 2026-01-23T05:30:17Z 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z

An Analysis of Media and Political Parallelism in Pakistan Zarmina Gull, 01-285181-003 Political communication in the context of the third world, notably in Pakistan, often intertwines with media content, posing challenges to democratic processes. This study investigates the intricate dynamics between the press's relationship with the government and its consequential impact on media content. Political parallelism in media holds significant implications for the broader landscape of democracy, with various parameters such as media pluralism, sociology, and instrumentalization contributing to its manifestation. This research employs content analysis to explore the extent of political parallelism in the coverage of critical national issues by leading English newspapers in Pakistan, focusing on the period from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2020. The study also explores the professional orientation of journalists through survey data collected from 285 participants, utilizing a convenient sampling technique. Additionally, qualitative interviews with mainstream journalists provide valuable insights. The findings suggest a notable prevalence of political parallelism in Pakistan's media landscape. Beyond the nexus between media and government, this study identifies journalistic norms, censorship, autonomy, advertisement considerations, and industrialists' interests as influential factors fostering political parallelism in the country. Supervised by Dr. Syed Abdul Siraj

2025-01-01T00:00:00Z