Construing the Political Identity of Imran Khan in Pakistani Print Media Discourse: A Systemic Functional Perspective
This study presents a discursive analysis to determine how the Pakistani English print media constructed the political identity of Imran Khan between 2022 and 2024 using Systemic Functional Linguistics, Critical Discourse Analysis, and Framing Theory. An integrated examination of Dawn News, 2022, and The News International indicates that the identity of Khan is constructed by both material and verbalization that place a greater emphasis on the agency and populist identity on the one hand, and relational and evaluative clauses on the other, which suggest inconsistencies in governance. Although both sources lead to the same conclusions of portraying him as polarizing, they differ ideologically: Dawn shows him as a danger to the democratic norm, whereas The News provides a less idealistic critique of governance. This paper illustrates the role of these language processes in creating polarized mass opinions and supports the role of the press in creating disputed political identities.
-
Imran Khan, Political Identity, Media Discourse, Pakistani Print Media, Transitivity, Ideological Framing
-
(1) Muqadas Fakhar
M.Phil Scholar, Department of English Language and Linguistics, University of Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan.
(2) Tazanfal Tehseem
Associate Professor, Department of English Language and Linguistics, University of Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan.
(3) Asad Nazar
PhD Scholar, Department of English Language and Linguistics, University of Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan.
Cite this article
-
APA : Fakhar, M., Tehseem, T., & Nazar, A. (2025). Construing the Political Identity of Imran Khan in Pakistani Print Media Discourse: A Systemic Functional Perspective. Global Political Review, X(II), 175-187. https://doi.org/10.31703/gpr.2025(X-II).16
-
CHICAGO : Fakhar, Muqadas, Tazanfal Tehseem, and Asad Nazar. 2025. "Construing the Political Identity of Imran Khan in Pakistani Print Media Discourse: A Systemic Functional Perspective." Global Political Review, X (II): 175-187 doi: 10.31703/gpr.2025(X-II).16
-
HARVARD : FAKHAR, M., TEHSEEM, T. & NAZAR, A. 2025. Construing the Political Identity of Imran Khan in Pakistani Print Media Discourse: A Systemic Functional Perspective. Global Political Review, X, 175-187.
-
MHRA : Fakhar, Muqadas, Tazanfal Tehseem, and Asad Nazar. 2025. "Construing the Political Identity of Imran Khan in Pakistani Print Media Discourse: A Systemic Functional Perspective." Global Political Review, X: 175-187
-
MLA : Fakhar, Muqadas, Tazanfal Tehseem, and Asad Nazar. "Construing the Political Identity of Imran Khan in Pakistani Print Media Discourse: A Systemic Functional Perspective." Global Political Review, X.II (2025): 175-187 Print.
-
OXFORD : Fakhar, Muqadas, Tehseem, Tazanfal, and Nazar, Asad (2025), "Construing the Political Identity of Imran Khan in Pakistani Print Media Discourse: A Systemic Functional Perspective", Global Political Review, X (II), 175-187
-
TURABIAN : Fakhar, Muqadas, Tazanfal Tehseem, and Asad Nazar. "Construing the Political Identity of Imran Khan in Pakistani Print Media Discourse: A Systemic Functional Perspective." Global Political Review X, no. II (2025): 175-187. https://doi.org/10.31703/gpr.2025(X-II).16
