Abstract

Over the past few years, Pakistan carried out various publicized battles against militancy and terrorism led primarily by the Pakistan military. Due to the changed geostrategic context, civil-military coordination is necessary for developing a new national security policy. Therefore the objective of the present study is to examine civil-military coordination portrayed in the English press of Pakistan followed by the most significant event, i.e., the formation of Provincial Apex committees. These committees were formed for strengthening collaboration between civil-military institutions to execute NAP in different provinces, consequently the study analyzed news stories of two English newspapers, i.e., Dawn and The News, by employing the CDA model proposed by Fairclough. Results indicate that Dawn covered the image of the Pakistan military by highlighting actions of then COAS for empowering committees in different provinces for faster execution on NAP and restoration of IDP’s whereas, The News covered lack of coordination between civil-military leadership on execution of NAP.

Key Words

Civil-Military Coordination, NAP (National Action Plan), PACs (Provincial Apex Committees), CDA (Critical Discourse Analysis), IDP’s (Internally Displaced People)

Introduction

Civil-military relations is the classification of procedures and rules that defines the status of the military in a country’s hierarchy; it also explains the connection between civil-military elites and the system to control the military where control of society is pertinent (Karim, 2016). In all nation-states, civil-military relations are a key feature in order to maintain the stability of military organizations, defense of its citizens and state.  The ultimate concern in civil-military relations is how to construct and reserve the status of the military that is subordinate to the political system but equally efficient and effective (Feaver, 1999).

Since the beginning, the Pakistan military remained superior in civil-military relations because the state has been on the front line of terrorism, and due to its geostrategic landscape, it involves the most influential actors like Islamists, civil society and the military.  These actors have played an important role in Pakistan’s future, which is now followed by fear of internal collapse and bordering security threats (Rizvi, 2004). Keeping in mind the political history of Pakistan and the military’s role in politics, it is evident that defense decision making on matters concerning Indo- Pak relations, Kashmir issue, terrorism, and foreign/security policy are particularly in the hand of the military (Pattanaik, 2000). As a result, the military’s strength is more intensified in case of persistent civil war in Afghanistan, terrorism, Taliban, Indo Pak war on nuclear weapons and missile race. These aspects have increased the strength of the military not only in decision making but also in their involvement in Pakistan’s politics (Rizvi, 1998).

According to Yasmeen (2013), the presence of TTP in Pakistan was a noxious addition to a series of terrorist organizations, which has influenced the national security urgencies by heavy loss of humans and weapons. Within few years, the supremacy of terrorist organizations has shifted Pakistan from a frontline state to the main hub of terrorism. Civil-military relations in Pakistan took a new bonding when PM Nawaz Sharif came into power in June 2013. Sharif government was shadowed by the most tragic episode of bloodshed by terrorists on December 16, 2014, in Peshawar at APS School, and this heartbreaking incident appears to be the latest development towards the formation of new national action plan. This gore incident of Peshawar enhanced civil-military coordination, specifically in the case of military courts and the 21st constitutional amendment. It was observed that the PML-N government fully supported the military to hang the terrorist and eradicate all the terrorists from Pakistan by making amendments in the army act. This was the time when the army not only overreached the state's policymaking, but it has increased the morale of army personnel by crediting the profile of then COAS General Raheel Sharif (Taj, Shah, & Ahmad, 2016).  

Both civil and military leadership had concerns over the terrorist incidents in Pakistan, particularly after the heinous act of bloodshed in Peshawar at APS school, it was the time when both the army and civil government started working on new national security policy. The new strategy for countering terrorism was followed by National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) which was formed to facilitate coordination among military and civil institutions against militancy and terrorism in Pakistan. NACTA was formed late, but it started functioning in August 2015 with its new coordinator, and its purpose was to establish links with international and national think tanks specifically working on peace, conflict resolution, radicalization, countering extremism and counterterrorism (Nawaz, 2016).

In the 21st century, media is considered the fourth pillar of the state with the ultimate power to shape people’s perceptions (Thomas & Wareing, 1999). According to Hassan (2018), in the contemporary world, people use multiple venues to access information, for example, print and electronic media, in order to get updates on the events related to national and international affairs, war and most importantly, the security of State. Since the role of the media revolves around the construction of public opinions, therefore it is vital to investigate discourse through language and the hidden ideologies presented in the media text. Benveniste (1971) stated discourse as language construction and its treatment. Also, language is considered a speaking tool and a social phenomenon, which is why it is accepted as an essential part of society; accordingly, it defines a relation with society.

Language is the focal point through which the happening is described and presented. Moreover, language is not only the tool to explain reality to people rather, it is used to construct the reality of events (Taiwoo, 2007).  Simpson (1993) examined the language of media text, particularly the news and tried to find out the connection between a news story and its context. Consequently, Timuçin (2010) said that the language of the newspaper is an important aspect since it is used to inform and entertain the people of any society. Van Dijk (1997) stated that the news story with the English language leads towards the narrative, which is very different from the stories of daily life or the stories narrated to the kids; thus, the dynamic nature of newspaper stories and their construction are significant issues which researcher should investigate. Thus, the present study examined that how the language of the news stories is manipulated through words and how the civil-military nexus is presented differently by two English newspapers of Pakistan, i.e., Dawn and The News. Since every newspaper may construct an entirely different version of the same event because of different lexical structures, styles, themes and discourses. Therefore, the current study also analyzed the themes and discourses constructed in the news stories related to the national event “Provincial Apex Committees.”

Literature Review

Huntington (2006), one of the most popular researchers in civil-military relations, defines break down of different levels of relationship that represents military and states system. He argued about eliminating the military’s intrusion into civil supremacy and governmental matters which has existence. Huntington stated that the pillar for a strong and well organized democratic system requires a high level of political institutionalization (p.12). He defines four characteristics that measure the political institutionalization of a democratic system. The four characteristics are compliance, coherence, convolution and autonomy. Huntington (1995) examined civil-military relations and said that is a huge difference between civil and military worlds. His analysis contends that these two may coincide without jeopardizing and endangering liberal democracy; he proposed that for sustaining order, civil authorities should design a way to direct the military without permitting it to get into an independent character and organization or the prerequisite of the military, hence preventing politics from problems.  

Since Pakistan came into being, it has been confronted with various strategic challenges. These challenges were caused due to the instability of the economic and political system, which has enhanced the challenges both at the domestic and foreign level, and unfortunately, Pakistani society has to face all of these challenges (Lodhi, 2011). Taj, Rahim & Malik (2017) examined civil-military relations in the context of strategic challenges and suggested that it is vital for Pakistan to have balanced civil-military relations, as it will tag a good name in the international world. Also, for substantial rewards from the international community, it is pertinent that country’s leader should think selflessly and objectively.  Cohen (1998) investigated the intrusion of civil-military relations in Pakistan in 2011. He said that, although the role of the military is regressed but not minimized and still the military in Pakistan remained the undeniable power having its interference in almost all democratic regimes during different phases. Jaspal (2015) claimed that the military’s interference in Pakistan’s politics affects the formation of democratic systems. Dawood (2014) also criticized the legitimacy crises in Pakistan and argued that military intrusion in the political process is one of the major causes of weak governance in Pakistan.

In the world today, media is performing different roles, apart from entertaining and informing the public, it is constructing society as a whole. Therefore, the choice of words, reappearance and consumption of different cultural signs strongly leaves an impression on the public’s perception (Entman1993). Qadeer, Shehzad, & Chishti (2017), in one of their studies, concluded that Pakistan’s media is an important part of the democratic political system and media debates purposely involve the wider democratic process (p. 186). Siddique & Ashfaq (2021) explored civil-military conflict from 2008 to 2018 by using thematic analysis. The results reveal that media discouraged the insane and widely spread emotions escalating civil-military issues. The study concluded that media plays its role in bridging the gap among both the institutions, however retaining the balanced, impartial coverage of significant events of the state.

According to Nani (2003), media, particularly the press, is responsible for spreading information about different regional, national and international happenings. It is stated by (Richardson 2007) that media might control and sell the facts related to events. Reah (2002) analyzed different case studies to examine the impact of syntax, lexical structure and discourses which newspapers use for manipulating the meaning of events and players. Ahsan, Hussain, & Arshad (2021) conducted a study to analyze the prejudice towards different local and world-renowned public, political and social figures. They analyzed the lexical items of the Urdu newspaper of Pakistan named Nawa-i-Waqat, and their study concluded that newspapers heavily depend on some lexical items to control and manipulate the belief system of the masses. The results indicate that figurative language used in the newspapers influence the opinion of the people. 

Discourse and media have a strong relationship which researchers investigate because discourse is a form of statement with purpose and context. Therefore, it is said that discourse refers to the study of language in use. Analysis of discourse includes different clues and cues used by the writer or speaker to construct listener or readers actions or interpretations (Gee, 2010). Fairclough (2003) & Johnstone (2018) also define discourse as something spoken or written which pinpoints multiple relations of people with the outer world, which can be political, religious, economic or social. Aurangzaib, Rana, Zeeshan, & Naqvi (2021) investigated that how the press manipulates the event of Panama Leaks and present the hidden ideologies. They explored four newspapers of Pakistan, two English newspapers named Dawn and Daily times (English Language newspaper) and two Urdu newspapers Jang and The Express. They explored the hidden ideologies of these newspapers by using textual and contextual analysis. Results indicate that the discourse of the English language was more logical, balanced and reasonable, whereas the discourse of Urdu newspapers appears to be an emotional script.

According to Van Dijk (1999), critical discourse analysis (CDA) refers to the study of social practices by which inequality, dominance and social power are not only practised, but sometimes resisted through spoken or written text. Carvahlo (2008) said that the main purpose of CDA is to look beyond language by exploring the socio-cultural and institutional context. He also said that CDA is perhaps the only way to conduct the research, whereas CDA researchers try to construct the relationship between social practice and language. The main concern in CDA is to explore that how people produce, reproduce and shape the opinion about the outer world through the use of text. Johnstone (2018) conducted a study by using Carvahlo’s (2008) theoretical model, which is used for studying the journalistic discourse, particularly where text is dominant. He stated that CDA is to explore the hidden agendas behind every spoken or written discourse. Therefore, the current study examined the news stories of two English newspapers of Pakistan, which reflect civil-military coordination in the context of the most significant event, i.e., Provincial Apex Committees. The reason for selecting this event is that the formation of Apex committees in all the provinces of Pakistan appears to be the revival of civil-military coordination, as these committees’ included members from both civilian and military leadership in order to have a faster implementation on NAP to eradicate terrorism from the entire region. Both the selected English newspapers gave desirable coverage to the  Apex committee,s and CDA further identified that how language, themes and discourses were constructed in the context of Apex committees. 




Research Questions

RQ1: How the language of Dawn and The News depicted civil-military nexus through the choice of words with reference to Apex Committees?

RQ2: How civil-military nexus is fabricated in the news stories of Dawn and The News with reference to Apex Committees?

RQ3: How did Dawn and The News construct different themes and discourses on civil-military nexus with reference to Apex committees?

Research Methodology

The study examined the portrayal of civil-military leadership in the two English newspapers of Pakistan. The present study used a descriptive qualitative research method, and the main focus is on the macro analysis, which throws light on linguistics building blocks. To study the portrayal of civil-military leadership, 18 news stories were selected from two English newspapers of Pakistan, i.e., Dawn and The News. In the current study, two English newspapers Dawn and The News, are selected. The rationale behind their circulation is their wide and large circulation. Also, these newspapers are considered as most influential and persuasive in Pakistan (Kheeshadeh, 2012). For analysis of the news stories, the researcher employed critical discourse analysis. According to Van Dijk (1999), CDA is the study of social practices by which dominance, inequality, and power are not only practised and resisted through spoken or written text. Since the purpose of CDA is to expose hidden ideologies behind the spoken or written text. Therefore, Carvalho (2008) said that CDA tends to find out that how people construct, produce, reproduce the opinions about the universe with the help of language. In this study, Fairclough's (1989, 1995) CDA model is used to analyze the print media discourse with the help of meanings and the hidden ideologies lying in each segment of news stories collected from two English newspapers of Pakistan. Fairclough (1989, 1995) views the aforementioned dimensions by diverse types of analysis, which includes 

a) Text Analysis (description) 

b) Processing Analysis (interpretation) 

c) Social Analysis (explanation). 

Results and Discussion

RQ1: How the language of Dawn and The News depicted civil-military nexus through the choice of words with reference to Apex Committees?

Dawn gave coverage to PAC and covered this event comprehensively. Dawn, in their stories, used powerful words by relating PAC to the formation of special courts, which, according to Dawn, was a form of legislative battle, and after winning the battle at the parliamentary level, an all-party conference was announced. This conference made several panels revise NAP to fight against terrorism. Actually, the formation of these panels is (PACs) Provincial Apex Committees. These committees included provincial leaders of government and military commanders serving in all provinces. The aim of these committees is to have effective civil-military coordination at the provincial in order to implement NAP. Dawn being investigative, explains that it is really difficult to figure out who has made these committees, though the first meeting was already initiated at Lahore corps headquarters. Meanwhile, the military asserted civilian government to show their interest in pacing NAP. ISPR announced that the formation of these committees would lead towards the implementation of NAP. Regardless of the issues related to the capacity as well as coordination, the objective of PAC is to formulate a plan related to the security situations in every province. During the inauguration of PAC, COAS said that at any cost, we have to eliminate the terrorist from our country and failure towards this objective is not an option we can opt for. He also said that the army would surely support the provincial leadership for their actions against terrorism and also asked for the support of the whole nation, additional support required from intelligence agencies, adding more he said that this mutual consensus would lead towards success (Committees set up to execute NAP in provinces, January 4, 2015, Dawn). 

Dawn also covered another update on this event which is related to the issue of Rehabilitation of internally displaced people (IDPs) and explained that during KPK (PAC), the issues discussed were related to security, militant operations against Taliban and the implementation of approved NAP. Then COAS said that the top priority at the moment is the rehabilitation of the displaced people and their settlement, he said, “as per the plan, this issue will be resolved”. He said that PACs is the “new system to implement the updated and approved NAP, to further coordinate with the provincial government on the issues concerning security”. This meeting has also discussed the situation of FATA in the context of the newly approved NAP, and they also discussed the latest development on Zarb e Azb and the plan for IDPs. During the meeting, COAS paid high tribute to the sacrifice of tribal people of FATA and KPK and said that these people stood fast and showed courage against terrorism. COAS further said that the whole nation is united against terrorism. He gave assurance to the forum that the “army will fully support NAP, and its speedy implementation will help eliminate the helpers of the terrorists from the whole region” (IDPs, Military operation discussed at KP APEX committee meeting, January 4, 2015, Dawn). 

Dawn covered another story, and according to the sources of Dawn, PM will stay in Baluchistan and later, he will address to PAC of Baluchistan to review the “implementation of NAP in Baluchistan”. Sources said that few cabinet ministers, military officers, and then COAS were expected to come in PAC (PM, Army chief to visit Quetta today, February 18, 2016, Dawn).  Further, it was decided at the end of PAC that “operations will not stop until the elimination of the last terrorist and to continue operations”. Asim Bajwa said that COAS evaluated the performance of the ongoing operations against the terrorist, moreover, weekly PAC will monitor surveillance, and shall focus on effective policies to curb all the terrorist from the region (Army leadership vows to continue operations with Increased Tempo, May 14, 2015, Dawn).

The News also covered the formation PACs in their stories and spread few updates by using different words. The News during the coverage stated then COAS, as “the only way to eradicate terrorist from our soil requires wholehearted involvement of the entire nation and at the same time harmony among all the institutions could act as a forced multiplier”. Adding more he said that “we can’t afford failure on behalf of eliminating the terrorist from the region so whatever the cost is, we have to eradicate all the high profile terrorist from our country”. He also said that “consensus at national level with the government is an additional element towards our success”. He also gave assurance to “civilian government that army will help provincial leadership to eliminate all the terrorist” and repeatedly said that “government of Punjab has to clean the province from terrorism and their evil activities”. He was of the view that implementation of security plan requires joint effort within its parameters and deadline. It was said that PACs were formed at the provincial level so army and provincial leadership could coordinate effectively to review the approved NAP (Failure to eliminate terrorism/extremism is no option, January 3, 2015, The News). 

The News covered another story related to the meeting of PAC attended by the civilian leadership of FATA and corps commander KPK. News story stated that PAC is a new plan for reviewing the implantation of NAP in all the provinces, the progress of operation Zarb e Azb, and the rehabilitation of IDPs. Then COAS during the meeting said that the nation will never forget the brave actions and courage of the people of FATA and KPK for marginalizing terrorist in KPK and FATA. He also addressed by assuring the forum that armed forces will fully support the implementation of NAP in the light of eliminating all the terrorist and extremist from the region. He said as per the plan, we will resettle the displaced people and we will not only work for their restoration rather we will ensure development projects in order to overcome their backwardness. He further said that army will not interfere in the political matters, but army will assist and support all the provincial leaders of FATA and KPK (Nation Stands united to fully uproot the menace of terrorism, COAS, January 4, 2015, The News).

RQ2: How civil-military nexus is fabricated in the news stories of Dawn and The News with reference to Apex Committees?

During the coverage of PAC, Dawn gave coverage to civil-military coordination by adding slant in almost all the stories which primarily defines the image of civilian and military institutions in stories of both the newspapers. Most of the news stories used positive slants for Pakistan military’s endless effort towards maintaining peace, launch of terrorist operations, coordination with civilian government on approved NAP and restoration of IDPs in FATA and KPK.  News stories of Dawn used negative slants against the civilian government and terrorist for example “high-level huddle” and another very alarming “brutal”. The slant covered by Dawn in one of the story relates to a high level meeting between military and government. Meeting discussed the effective policies for law and order and to have effective surveillance for no go areas in the overall country. Adding more ISPR released a statement that we will not spare any criminal irrespective of any ethnic/sectarian and religious affiliation. The same verdict was repeated in a high-level meeting soon after the incident of bus attack on Ismaili community in which 45 people lost their lives. Soon after this incident, Karachi operation was launched with purpose of eradicating target killers, terrorist, and kidnappers (Ranger's raid hideouts of banned outfits, May 14, 2015, Dawn). The slant in the news story clearly indicate the seriousness of Pakistan military for restoring peace in Karachi which is considered as the main economic hub of Pakistan. It shows that Sindh government lacked interest in eradicating terrorist, ultimately Pakistan military launched Karachi operation by giving authority to rangers to supervise Sindh police.

In another story Dawn used positive slant by appreciating then COAS, another PAC meeting, then COAS evaluated the ongoing operations and he seriously emphasized on arresting the “perpetrators”. Both the law enforcement and intelligence agencies worked in harmony for searching terrorist networks and their violent actions. In the same light, the committee decided to form another committee for better coordination among civilian institutions and intelligence agencies. The committee further decided to pay more attention to the issue of who is funding to terrorist? And their actions. (APEX committee decides to intensify the operation, May 15, 2015, Dawn). Dawn covered another slant positively and wrote that counterterrorism cell has been formed by intelligence agencies for effective functioning and to keep an eye on terrorist, it will help in finding the hidden networks of terrorist groups. There is another plan to use cameras and air balloons for effective surveillance. All these sets of measures were decided by government in the context of directives send by CM in one of the meeting of PAC (Counterterrorism cell begins work at Corps headquarter, May 28, 2015, Dawn). 

The News also covered the event of PAC in their stories and most of the slants reported the concerns of Pakistan military on the issue of IDPs, the people who lost their houses during North Waziristan operation. According to the verdict of government, thousands and millions of people lost their lives, many went to Bannu, though others have crossed the Afghan border and went to twin cities. COAS assured the forum that he will surely help KPK and FATA government to solve the issue of IDPs for further development. COAS paid high tribute to the tribal people for their bravery and courage and at the same time, he showed his gratitude towards their sacrifice. More weaponry was given to FC for increasing their capacity to fight against terrorism. Talking about multiple operations he said 90% of the area is clear and now majority of these areas are under the control of security forces. He also said that for development process and restoration of IDPs, we have to eliminate all the extremist and terrorist from KPK and FATA (Terrorist, Facilitators to be eliminated, COAS, January 6, 2015, The News). 

The News covered another positive angle, and stated then COAS motivational statement “security operations will gain more pace till the elimination of last terrorist”. Another special meeting under PAC was held in Karachi soon after the incident of heinous attack on Ismaili community. In this regard, the meeting reviewed their policies and intelligence agencies were directed to arrest the culprits behind this brutal attack. In the context of Karachi operation, it was said that we will not spare any criminal regardless of their affiliation with religious, ethnic, or political group. It was directed to law enforcement agencies to have operations in the hidden areas of Karachi against all the criminals. The meeting decided to have more appointments from provincial government as well as law enforcement agencies for initiating security operations. Moreover, it was said in the meeting that all the paths should be closed for those who are responsible for funding the terrorist and their actions against our country. Another important statement was quoted in the meeting that is we have to strengthen civil-military coordination for eliminating terrorist (Karachi Operation to be expanded, speed up, December 3, 2015, The News).

RQ3: How Dawn and The News constructed different themes and discourses on civil-military nexus with reference to Apex committees?

During the coverage of PAC, Dawn published 11 stories and majority of the stories covered themes and discourses in favor of the efforts of Pakistan army for the restoration of peace. It was also observed that few stories covered themes and discourses related to the rift among civilian and military institutions. Such discourses are Civil-Military Coordination, Speedy Implementation, Review NAP, and Increased Tempo. Dawn covered an interesting theme of “dismay and concerns” which explains that when Pakistan army launched the operation to ban Tehreek-i-Taliban, it was beginning of civil-military nexus on implementation of NAP, but then COAS showed his disappointment on civilian government for their slow working on the implementation NAP, he further said that through operation Zarb e Azb we gained a lot but timely execution of NAP is necessary to cherish the results. He said no progress on NAP is becoming a hurdle in the way of operation Zarb e Azb. Then COAS directly criticized the government for poor performance on the implementation of NAP. Dawn also covered some important discourses as “sluggish” and “discontentment”. 

Military dissatisfaction on government is not something surprising because it’s the second time COAS has showed his anger and dissatisfaction on civilian government for their slow progress on NAP. Dawn in the same story use some diverse discourses as ‘kinetic operations ’“matching governance initiatives” which explains that military cautioned the government that alone army cannot win the war and the role of government is equally important. If government will not take similar related measures ultimately this war will become a “distant dream” and from time to time the infants of terrorism will affect peace in the region which might destabilize Pakistan, its infra-structure and precious people of Pakistan (COAS expresses Dismay over slow NAP execution, August 13, 2015, Dawn). 

Dawn covered another theme which is related to civil-military nexus i.e., “extension of rangers”. The theme explains that then COAS realized that since Karachi is the main hub of business, so restoring peace in Karachi is important for boosting economy of Pakistan. Therefore, Minister for interior send notification to Sindh government about rangers three years stay in Karachi to supervise Sindh police with complete authority. One year ago, Karachi operation was launched and rangers were given the powers who along with police, law enforcement agencies and some other civilian agencies were assigned the task of identifying criminals involved in kidnapping, ransom, target killing, mobile snatching, and street crimes in Karachi. Thus, PAC in Sindh decided to have operations to eliminate all the terrorist involved in such activities (Extension of rangers’ powers in Karachi, October 17, 2016, Dawn).

The News by giving coverage to PAC published 07 news stories and covered themes related to the implementation of NAP and launch of security operations. The most surprising theme covered by the News is related to the tribute paid by COAS to the people of FATA and KPK. He said that we respect the sacrifice of our tribal people, as their courage and bravery have marginalized the terrorist from entire region. He by paying tribute said that our next mission is to work for the rehabilitation of IDPs and those have left their homes due to security operations. He has assured that army will wholeheartedly support provincial government for development in this region. He repeatedly said that the development process is important but one should not forget that for sustained development in the region we have to restore peace in the region. We have to work for the well-being of this region and also to provide them with better infrastructure (Army chief pays rich tribute to the resilience of people of KP, February 9, 2016, The News). The News also covered discourses in their news stories as Grass Roots Level, Nation Stands United, and Sympathizers from Mother Land, atrocities and tirelessly (Nation Stands united to fully uproot the menace of terrorism, COAS, January 4, 2015, The News).

Conclusion

The present study is designed to examine the news stories of two English newspapers of Pakistan i.e., Dawn and The News by employing the method of critical discourse analysis (CDA). The study examined that how the linguistic devices and hidden ideologies were portrayed through the construction of discourses in the two English newspapers of Pakistan. Using CDA, the results reveal that vocabulary, themes, discourses and slants employed in two English newspapers of Pakistan showed that there were ideological meanings behind the language used. It also explains that these ideological meanings indicate the opinion of the public at large. It was also observed that both the newspapers become ideologically united on the issues concerning national security, sovereignty, and terrorist operations. As far as the ideology of both the newspapers is concerned, the results show that civil-military coordination became a need for effective national security policy particularly during the time when PM Nawaz Sharif and then COAS General Raheel Sharif took the charge. It was that time when both the newspapers appreciated the efforts of then COAS for stressing upon the importance of civil-military coordination for eradicating all terrorist and to retain peace for people of Pakistan. Both the newspapers gave abundant and sentimental coverage to the formation PACs and appreciated civilian government for supporting military in the context of terrorist operations, restoration of IDPs and supervising the Sindh police. Overall both the newspapers played a supportive role to disseminate the national ideology in an effective way.

Policy Recommendations

Following are the recommendations

1. In the present study researcher employed CDA to examine the news stories of two English newspapers while other segments of the newspaper for instance editorials, columns, and articles published in the newspapers were not examined. Therefore, future researchers may examine such news segments in order to have a broader perspective on issue analyzed. 

2. Similarly, the current study examined civil-military nexus in the context of Apex committees but by selecting some other events, the results could become more comprehensive.

3. Since the study cater only the English newspapers, so by increasing either the newspapers or selecting the Urdu newspapers could have more positive effect on results.

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