Journal of Academic Research for Humanities (JARH) is a double-blind, peer-reviewed, Open Free Access, online Multidisciplinary Research Journal
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Vol. 6 No. 3 (2026)
International Journal of Academic Research for Humanities

Research Articles

Media and Strategic Narrative in Pakistan: Reframing Communication for Sustainable Peace

https://doi.org/10.67244/jar.bwo-researches.v6i3.a632

Published 09-09-2026

  • Zaid Bin Inam
    • ,
  • Saman Yaser

Zaid Bin Inam
Lecturer, Department of Media and Communication Studies, National University of Modern Languages Islamabad, Pakistan

Saman Yaser
Independent Researcher, Islamabad, Pakistan

Abstract

This study seeks to reconceptualize the changing nature of strategic narrative in Pakistan owing to the position it occupies within Pakistan's security framework, both internal and external. The study endeavors to explicate the media discourse on violent extremism in Pakistan. Mass media is a contested arena where strategic narrative is reconstructed in order to control the required objectives and to drive legitimacy. The preponderance of escalatory framing by the media through the construction of threats jeopardizes the scenarios of a durable peace process. The study employed the qualitative research method based on data from the secondary sources selected on the basis of purposive sampling. Pakistan has been experiencing the recurrence of terrorism and extremism, which generate significant social, economic, and security consequences for the state. The crucial role of social media, in addition to legacy media, needs to be understood in order to significantly de-escalate the narrative construction by eschewing differences in favor of commonalities. Strategic narrative is pivotal in contemporary times to create a positive image of the state at both the domestic and international level. The study elucidates the connection between strategic narrative and media framing of salient issues. The construction of strategic narrative is a whole-of-government approach; however, media occupies a central position. The landscape of mainstream media primes consumers with certain schemas, and that proclivity would reassemble itself in human insecurities. This study extends the scholarly debate regarding how the media`s potential can be employed to de-sensationalize the content in order to fulfill the social responsibility.

Keywords

media, extremism, peace, social, responsibility

PDF

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