Abstrict

This study discovers the framing of civil-military conflicts in Pakistani newspapers from 2008 and 2018. By examining editorial coverage in both English and Urdu publications, the study examines the role of the press in either resolving or aggravating civil-military conflicts. Findings reveal that English papers contributed more to the aggravation of tensions between civilian and military institutions, with 40.08pc of editorials falling into the conflict aggravation category. Meanwhile, only 20.33pc of Urdu editorials were found to exacerbate tensions. On the flip side, a significant portion of editorials in both languages focused on conflict resolution, emphasizing better civil-military relations. The study also highlights the distinct framing of civil-military relations between English and Urdu editorials, suggesting language choice influences media portrayals of these conflicts. Interestingly, the research found no significant difference in coverage based on political party tenures (2008 to 2013) and (2013- 2018).

Keywords

Conflict Resolution, Conflict Aggravation, Civil-military Conflicts, Pakistani Print Media, Framing 

Introduction

In contemporary republics, the establishments are split up between the numerous power centers. Yamaguchi and Welch (2005) summarized Huntington's thoughts by claiming that there are three significant factors pertaining to civil-military relations: the first one is “functional imperative,” the second is “ideology,” and the third is “constitutional structure.” There are two ways in which civilians might exert influence over the military: first, through “subjective control,” and second, through “objective control.” By "subjective control," it meant stringent control by civilians, and by "objective control," it meant self-regulating autonomy to military personnel like doctors or the legal fraternity. Accordingly, the study referred to the contemporary soldier as a professional, in the same way as a physician or lawyer. The investigation also demonstrated that personal control may potentially lead to civilian tussles, which would undermine civilian authority. As a result, Huntington favored the objective management of the military by 

civilians.

Likewise, Donnithorne (2013) explained both civilian and military institutions. According to him, the democratic government is accountable to the general public and bears responsibility for formulating policy and employing force for the benefit of the nation. While the military answers to civilian leaders, its role is crucial in providing expert advice, assessing risks, and putting policies into action. Moreover, it's responsible for bringing strategic plans to life. Interestingly, the study highlighted that the distinct roles of civil and military organizations have a profound impact on our moral values and principles.

Tapia (2017) drew up a model for the analysis of civil-military relations while talking about the factors that led to the separation of civilians and military institutions. The approach proposed that, first and foremost, the willingness of the armed forces to use force in order to accomplish a higher goal should be considered. Thirdly, "reduction in the public interest for security questions in general, and things military in particular, that leaves security issues out of the public and political debate." (p. 14) 

In addition to that, the Pakistani civilian-military establishment always inherited problems surrounding the exercise of their powers. This is due to the fact that military leadership in a republic attempts to acquire maximum autonomy without losing their civilian authority, which results in questions regarding the exercise of their powers. On the other hand, civilian leadership strives to maintain influence over the armed forces while remaining out of the military's internal decision-making processes. 

Despite the fact that the preceding pieces of literature disagreed on many points, they did agree on one: civilian control over the military. According to what was claimed in the literature, the moral authority to rule over the military leadership was given to the civilian leadership by the electoral mandate they received. Despite this, the significance of military independence remained substantial due to the internal autonomy of the military and the creation of a warfare strategy. 

Moreover, there has been a lot of discussion regarding civilian authority and the role that the military played in civilian institutions from 2008 to 2018 in Pakistan. As a result, this research consisted of civil-military conflicts that were reported in the Pakistani print media editorials following the return of democracy in the country in 2008. There were two governments were present during this period. The first was from 2008 to 2013 People's Party from 2008-2013, and the second party was the Muslim League (Nawaz) from 2013 to 2018. It was an unprecedented event in the history of Pakistan that both governments; democratically elected governments of Pakistan completed their tenure of five years. This study discusses the framing of the civil-military conflict in the print media of Pakistan in the era of 2008-2018.

Pakistan’s democratic transition between 2008 and 2018 was characterized by heated discussions about the interference of the military in civilian affairs. This research focuses on the Civil-Military conflicts that made news headlines in Pakistani newspapers during this period when two democratic governments, the People's Party (2008-2013) and Muslim League Nawaz (2013-2018) became the first in Pakistan's history to complete their terms. This is the first time in Pakistan's history that power was transferred from one civilian government to another without any use of force. This research seeks to understand how Pakistani print media contributed to framing the civil-military conflicts during this critical decade.

Pakistan’s Civil-Mil. Relationship

The concept of civil-military relations in the context of a nation-state is defined as the relationship and interactions between the civilians and the military. The case of Pakistan is a clear example of the turbulent history of civil-military relations as the country has been ruled by military dictators, has seen political instability, and has been fighting for democracy. This literature review is meant to look at the historical evolution of civil-military relations in Pakistan and try to highlight some of the key events and circumstances that have influenced the development of this relationship. The depiction of civil-military relations in Pakistan has been not only influenced by the historical processes that have taken place between the civilian administration and the military establishment but also by the media. The role that the media plays in shaping public opinion, influencing political dialogue, and mirroring the prevailing attitudes concerning this multivalent relationship is critical. This literature review focuses on the media representation of Pakistani civil-military issues and the media agenda-setting of Pakistan's politics.

Khokhar (2016) provided insight into the interactions and tensions between Pakistan's civilian and military leadership and how this was affecting the country's democratic trajectory. This was especially so in the civil-military conflicts that began in 2008 and continued to flare. On the other hand, Mahmood (2016) argued that the impact of military intervention in Pakistan has been negative as the political institutions are weak and the economy is in poor shape posing a challenge to democratic development.

Akhtar (2017) found out that political parties in Pakistan used the media to mobilize support while the military used it to counter the government’s covert anti-military agenda between 2008 and 2013. Meanwhile, Fair (2011) shed light on the military's strategy to address the shortcomings of the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) during the 2010 floods. Fair's study also painted a picture of Pakistan's complex political landscape. Interestingly, the study predicted that the military wouldn't seize power despite the PPP's poor governance, citing the public's dissatisfaction as a critical factor. However, the study left room for uncertainty, suggesting that the military's future role in politics couldn't be ruled out entirely. This was a central argument of the study.

The government led by Nawaz Sharif from 2013 to 2018 had a tumultuous relationship with the military. According to Wolf (2017), Sharif faced a significant blow to Pakistan's already fragile civil-military relations, paving the way for the military to exert even greater control over China, Pakistan Economic Corridor. Since CPEC's inception, the Army has steadily increased its influence in Pakistan's political and administrative spheres, and this trend is likely to continue.

Kugelman (2018), a journalist, discussed how a story published in the Dawn newspaper caused a wedge between the civil and military leadership of Pakistan while focusing on the civic-military imbalance that exists in Pakistan. The meeting at which the civilian leadership requested that the army leadership take action against non-state actors was discussed in the article. Analysts sympathetic to the military stated that Dawn newspaper had ‘manufactured’ the story in order to shame the Army. Unexpectedly, the Army's spokesman, Major General Asif Ghafoor, said on Twitter that "the government's decision was rejected." After a few weeks had passed, the Army announced that the tweet had been "withdrawn." Nevertheless, the Army's preliminary rejection of a decision made by the civilian administration highlighted the growing influence of the military in Pakistan.

After observing the persistent conflicts among civil & military leadership, particularly from 2008-2018, a number of academics have speculated that Pakistan may transition towards a guided democracy as a result of the deteriorating civil-military ties there. 

Throughout these years, Pakistani news media has been accused of favoring particular viewpoints and adhering to predetermined agendas in its reporting. The majority of the media coverage of the election in 2018 concentrated on the personalities of the candidates and portrayed them as being in a contest of wills with one another. Discussions regarding Pakistan's policy-making process, its challenges, and how to solve them were either ignored or presented in a very brief manner, robbing the people of Pakistan of the opportunity to appreciate these subjects thoroughly. According to Hussain (2015), the economic climate of the Pakistani media sector had a considerable effect on the professional approach that was taken. Everyone in the media was caught up in a furious competition to see who could do it the earliest and with the highest level of success. 

Depiction of Political and Civil-Military Issues in Pakistani Media

According to Raza et al.'s (2012) findings, Pakistani newspapers continue to play a responsible role in the framing of terrorism problems. It became clear that the Pakistani print media exhibited accountability and self-control, as well as advocated a peace journalism stance in their reportage. The voices, tones, and languages of those who recounted their experiences during the conflict were not emphasized in the printed media. According to the findings of the study, the media portrayal of the Taliban is more consistent with that of an adversary than a friend. Both Siraj and Waheed (2019) concluded that the Pakistani media did not behave responsibly when reporting on the Panama Papers scandal, which affected the Prime Minister of Pakistan (Mian Nawaz Sharif) as well as members of his family. It was also discovered that Pakistan's leading newspapers shaped and presented their news coverage of the Panama leaks in accordance with their own goals and methods. The investigation found this. It was inevitable that there would be differences between Pakistan's leading Urdu newspapers and its leading English newspapers due to the fact that the coverage in the Urdu newspapers was far more sensationalist than that of the English media.

Another interesting study by Hussain (2022) revealed contradictory results when analyzing the press coverage of different events within Pakistan's heightened state of security. The study focused on the English newspaper Dawn and the widely circulated Urdu newspaper daily Jang through a framing analysis. The researcher observed that critical response was lacking in the coverage of the unfortunate event at the Salala check post, where Pakistani soldiers were targeted by NATO forces from Afghanistan, causing casualties. However, critical coverage emerged due to policy uncertainty surrounding participation in the conflict in Yemen. The coverage of the strife in Kashmir favored the broader political consensus. Similarly, the reporting on the unpopular decision to grant an extension to the army chief was primarily balanced, with some criticism directed towards the procedural aspects.

Another study by Gul et al. (2020) investigated how the political and military narratives surrounding Operation Zarb E Azb (ZEB) were framed in the media. The condemnation of Pakistan's efforts to eliminate terrorist organizations and the dispute over its role in doing so were prevalent in the international press. The results showed that there is a much higher leaning towards the military storyline as opposed to the political governance. In addition, there was a disparity in the number of times news media covered the two sides of the story. Despite the fact that both newspapers portrayed a positive outlook on Operation Zarb-e-Azb against militants, some specific differences identified the absence of long-term perspective and actions by the government for the reduction of militant activity in Pakistan. In particular, Dawn offered extensive and detailed coverage of the operation and signified the political-military split at the end of the operation. The media coverage of the militants' attacks revealed that the government was not doing a good job in fighting the militants. One of the main information voids that were observed during Operation ZEB was the difference in the coverage of the event by the military and the civilian government. This indicated that the army fought the battle without much interference from the government. The government either failed to report on Operation ZEB or reported less than usual, which was a sign of passivity instead of presenting it as a joint success. The media coverage stressed the importance of bringing this gap between the two agencies to a minimum since it was vital for the success of the military operation. 

Another study conducted by Nadaf (2020) was specifically about the media in Kashmir and the local newspapers during the State Assembly election campaigns in 2014. This period was marked by increased political polarization in the region. Through content analysis, evidence was deduced to explain the nature of the election campaigns. The results showed that the issues that were being raised by the different political parties regarding the political situations received more attention in the campaign news and the issues that are related to the ongoing war in the region and how it can be resolved received little prominence in the news.

This research supports the argument that conflict resolution strategies have to be informed by an appreciation of local media environments. These narratives should be recognized and studied as they provide important information on conflicts and how they can be addressed in a way that leads to effective engagement and resolution.

The following study hypotheses were developed in order to facilitate the understanding of the research question that was presented in the introduction of the study.

H1:    From 2008 to 2013, the newspaper editorials on civil-military issues were framed in a significantly different manner for “English” and “Urdu” newspapers.

H2: The Pakistan Peoples Party (2008-2013) and Pakistan Muslim League N's tenure saw a significant difference in Pakistani newspapers during the coverage of civil-military relations.

Framing & Civil Military Conflicts

Framing is one of the factors that play a role in how

a society manufactures reality through the news media. Utilizing journalistic frames allows for the ranking, summarization, and organization of the chronological progression of events in media texts (Scheufele, 2000). The study further notes that frames can be anything from fundamental words used in journalistic texts to metaphors, concepts, themes, and symbols, as well as the often featured visual visuals in the news narrative. According to this theory, the media presents an object or subject within a specific frame that it has established. This not only affects the audience but also transforms the way that the audience perceives the world. As a result, the frame analysis is helpful in coming to conclusions about those conflicts, regardless of whether those conclusions are positive or negative. The mass media has established a number of frames to accommodate different kinds of work, and each subject is positioned within the appropriate frame for the audience that it is trying to reach. In addition, media frames in political communication have been a buzzword for several decades, and despite the passage of time, the concept still holds weight in contemporary academic arguments. In order to answer the research question about media frames, Matthes (2010) outlined four different political framing techniques; the first one is a battle of ideas and perspectives among leaders and influential communicators, each trying to shape the narrative. The second one encapsulates that key players carefully pick and choose the frames that best serve their interests and goals; the third technique is that framing is a dynamic and constantly adapting process, evolving to shape public opinion. The last technique is that the frames exert their influence by repeatedly reinforcing similar ideas, creating a lasting mental connection that people will draw upon in the future.

Conflict Framing

The idea of conflict framing was adopted from the work of Semetko and Valkenburg (2000) because this study involved conflicts between different groups. They characterized conflict framing as "highlighting the conflict between individuals, groups, or institutions as a means of capturing audience interest" (p. 95). 

Furthermore, the framing of a particular conflict was an essential component of the reporting and analysis done by the media. The exemplification of conflict frames served as the foundation for the 

material that was disseminated via various news sources. Conflict frames also play a crucial part in molding the human mind process (Semetko & Valkenburg 2000; Scheufele 2000); a number of researchers have demonstrated this. This investigation, which not only proved the presence of framing but also investigated the circumstances in which it occurred and how it contributed to the formation of public opinion, made use of a combination of research approaches, including content analysis and in-depth interviews. In describing the positions that were taken by the Pakistani press in relation to the civil-military problems that are being experienced in Pakistan, the framing theory was also useful.

On the other hand, Kozman (2017) distinguished issue-specific frames from generic frames by their level of specificity. Kozman described generic frames as a conceptual model that is used for the comparison of different topics and issues. Semetko and Valkenburg (2000) identified five categories of frames: frame of reference, frame of evaluation, frame of comparison, frame of responsibility, and frame of causality. The categories include conflict, attribution of responsibility, economics, human interest, and morality.

However, in order to investigate the ways in which the Pakistani press frames its stories, directions of the content were separated into three categories: pro-military, pro-civilian, and balanced or neutral. Two frames were identified in the work of Semetko and Valkenburg (2000). The other two frames were "conflict" and "attribution of responsibility" and they were used to explain how the conflict was framed in the Pakistani press in the context of civil-military relations. Nonetheless, these frames were renamed for the purpose of this study as 'Conflict Aggravation' and 'Conflict Resolution' in order to understand the meaning of these frames in a much clearer and more concise manner.

Table 1

Category	Definition
A. General (Retd.) Pervez Musharraf and his Government	Editorials related to General (R) Pervez Musharraf and his government, covering topics such as his rise to power, prominent positions given to army officers, the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), and his plan for democracy at the grassroots level.
B. Pakistan’s premier spy agency, ISI	Issues concerning the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), including criticism of the agency and its alleged involvement in cases related to missing persons.
C. General (R) Pervez Musharraf’s trial and impeachment	Editorials focusing on the impeachment attempts against President Pervez Musharraf and the subsequent high treason trial.
D. Memo Gate (2011)	The controversy surrounding the "Memo Gate" incident, involving a memorandum addressed to Admiral Mike Mullen of the United States by the Pakistani ambassador to the US, Hussain Haqqani, and its implications on civil-military relations in Pakistan.
E. ‘Political’ role of Pakistan army.	Editorials discussing the alleged political role and interference of the Pakistani military
F. Operation by Pakistan Rangers	Coverage of the paramilitary force Rangers' operation in Karachi and the tensions between the provincial government and the military.
G. Famous Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir attacked	Editorials related to the attack on journalist Hamid Mir and the subsequent allegations against the Director-General of ISI, Lt. Gen Zaheer-ul-Islam.
H. The military operation against terrorism	Coverage of military operations against terrorism in Pakistan, including Operation Sirat-e-Mustaqeem, Operation Rah-e-Rast, Operation Rah-e-Nijat, Operation Koh-e-Sufaid, and Operation Zarbe Azab.
I. Military Courts	Discussions surrounding the establishment of military courts in response to the Army Public School attack and debates on their impact on the country's judicial system.
J. Issues pertaining to Dawn Leaks and Mian Nawaz Sharif's interview with a Dawn journalist (2016)	Coverage of the controversial meeting of civilian and military leaders published in Dawn News, as well as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's interview alleging the involvement of the Pakistani army in the Mumbai attacks.
K. Movement to protect Pashtuns (Pakistani tribe)	Coverage of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement, a grassroots movement advocating for Pashtun rights and criticizing the military's role in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
L. Faizabad Sit-in of Religious Party	Editorials discussing the sit-in organized by the Islamist group Tehreek-e-Labaik (TLP) at Faizabad, its impact on the country, and allegations of army support.
M. Miscellaneous civil-military issues	Coverage of various civil-military issues not falling under the defined categories.

The assignment of these overarching conceptual frameworks was helpful in gaining a better understanding of the editorial coverage that the Pakistani press provides on the topic of civil-military interactions. The "methodology" portion of this study is where the ideas of "Conflict Aggravation" and "Conflict Resolution" were given a concrete form so that they could be studied.

Methodology

This study focuses on analyzing the civil-military relationship editorials published in four Pakistani newspapers over a specific period. The sample included two English newspapers (The Dawn and The Nation) and two Urdu newspapers (The Jang and The Nawa-i-Waqt). These newspapers were chosen based on their circulation and known policy perspectives. The purpose of selecting these newspapers was to ensure a diverse representation of the Pakistani press, including different ideologies such as leftist, liberal, conservative/moderate, and Islamic backgrounds. Additionally, all the selected newspapers have a high circulation and are widely read across Pakistan. The study examined the editorials from March 17th, 2008 (the first National Assembly session of the 2008 elections and the formation of the Pakistan Peoples Party-led coalition government) to May 31st, 2018 (the dissolution of PMLN's government and the National Assembly). The analysis focused on editorials that pertained to civil-military relations, either explicitly or falling within the defined categories. The following are the research categories for the study. 

In order to acquire a profound comprehension of the editorials' use of framing, an exhaustive investigation into the attributed frames was carried out. This was accomplished by classifying the various frames into distinct groups. As discussed above, Semetko and Valkenburg (2000) analyzed the five most prevalent frames in the majority of the research that had been done up until that point. These frames were economic, attribution of blame, human interest, conflict, and morality.  The terms "conflict" and "attribution of responsibility" were found to be two of the frames that were identified, as specified in a theoretical framework. Nevertheless, in order to better comprehend what these frames are all about, their names have been changed to "Conflict Aggravation" and "Conflict Resolution." 

Conflict Aggravation is defined as the tension between civilian and military authorities, which is openly exacerbated by an editorial that was published in the chosen publication and was on the topic of civil-military issues. Conflict Resolution is defined as an editorial on civil-military relations that appears in one or more of the selected publications and makes an overt or covert effort to mediate or resolve the conflict that exists between civil and military organizations.

Findings & Discussion

To ensure the accuracy of our findings, we used Holsti's reliability formula, explained by Cai (2003). This formula calculates the level of agreement between two coders, and it's expressed as Agreement = 2N / (N1 + N2). In simpler terms, N represents the total number of times both coders agreed on their coding decisions, while N1 and N2 represent the individual coding decisions made by each coder. The following results were achieved by using this formula

• Selection of category, 3240/3282=0.99
• Frames selection, 3190/3282=0.97

Coding decisions received an index score of more than 0.95, which is necessary to achieve adequate reliability.

Table 2

Framing Cross tabulation (category)

		Framing		Total
		Conflict Aggravating	Conflict Resolving
Category	(a)	71 (27.73pc)	185(72.23pc)	256
	(b)	50 (42.02pc)	69 (57.98pc)	119
	(c)	97 (50.26pc)	96 (49.74pc)	193
	(d)	10 (15.38pc)	55 (84.62pc)	65
	(e)	15 (20.55pc)	58 (79.45pc)	73
	(f)	36 (21.95pc)	128 (78.05pc)	164
	(g)	14 (35pc)	26 (65pc)	40
	(h)	50 (16.67pc)	250 (83.33pc)	300
	(i)	35 (41.18pc)	50 (58.24pc)	85
	(j)	6 (27.27)	16 (72.72pc)	22
	(k)	6 (25pc)	18(75pc)	24
	(L)	6 (37.5pc)	10 (62.5pc)	16
	(m)	84 (29.58pc)	200 (70.42pc)	284
Total		480	1161	1641

Interpretation

Table 2 revealed that category 'C' (the Pervez Musharraf impeachment trial) had the most conflict escalation editorials with a ratio of more than 50pc. In comparison, category 'H' (the operation against terrorism) had the most conflict resolution editorials, with a ratio of more than 83pc.

Table 3

Cross-tabulation of Medium and Framing

		Framing		Total
		Conflict Aggravating	Conflict Resolving
Language of Newspapers	English newspapers	297 (40.08pc)	444 (59.92pc)	741
	Urdu newspapers	183 (20.33pc)	717 (79.67pc)	900
Total		480 (29.25pc)	1161 (70.75pc)	1641

As Table 3 demonstrates, there are differences in editorials about the framing of civil-military relations in English and Urdu. Table 4 below details the importance of this variation. The outcome of the statistical Chi-square test revealed that there is a significant difference between the framing of civil-military ties in English and Urdu editorials (2 = 76.582, df = 1, p0.001). So, the first hypothesis is accepted.

Table 4

Chi-Square Tests Newspaper Medium wise Framing

	Value	df	Asymptotic Significance (2-sided)
Pearson Chi-Square	76.582a	1	.000
N of Valid Cases	1641

Table 5

Party Tenure wise Framing (Cross Tabulation)

		Framing		Total
		Conflict Aggravation	Conflict Resolution
Tenure	First (PPP)	156 (27.27pc)	416 (72.72pc)	572
	Second (PMLN)	324 (30.31pc)	745 (69.69pc)	1069
Total		480 (29.25pc)	1161 (70.75pc)	1641

Results from Table 6 showed that there was no significant change in the framing of newspaper editorials between the first and second-party tenures (2 = 1.660, df = 1, p = 0.198). So the second hypothesis is rejected. 

Table 6

Chi-Square Tests (Party Tenure Framing)

	Value	df	AS (two-sided)
Chi-Square	1.660a	1	.198
Cases	1641

In terms of how the conflict was framed within the editorial coverage of newspapers, we can see that 40.08 percent of the English publications contributed to an escalation of the tension between civilian and military institutions. In comparison, only 20.33pc of editorials that contributed to an escalation of the war were published in Urdu media (see Table 3 for more information). On the other hand, over 60 percent of the editorials published in English addressed the resolution of conflicts. In comparison, nearly 80 percent of the editorials published in Urdu discussed the resolution of disputes (see Table 3 for more information). Data also provide insight into the different ways in which editorial coverage of conflicts is presented in Urdu and English publications, highlighting the contrast between the two languages. 

According to the statistics on conflict framing involving party tenures (see Table 5), no significant difference was found. Table 6 also revealed that there is no significant difference in the civil-military media coverage as far as party tenures are concerned. It shows that civil-military issues do not have any connection to the party tenures. It was clear from this that newspapers follow their coverage guidelines while covering these issues.

Conclusion

This study sought to investigate how civil-military conflicts were depicted in Pakistani print media between 2008 and 2018. As per the tables above, 40 percent of the English newspapers had a conflict-aggravating tone, while only 20.33pc of Urdu editorials used aggravated language. This shows that English news media adopts a more aggressive stance when covering civil-military conflicts.

This study also shows that a substantial portion of editorials in both English and Urdu publications also focused on conflict resolution. The need for conflict resolution was mentioned in more than 60 percent of English papers and around 80 percent of Urdu editorials. This focus on conflict resolution shows how crucial it is to create harmony among institutions. 

Interestingly, no significant difference was found in the coverage of Pakistani print media during the tenure of the Pakistan Peoples' Party from 2008 to 2013 and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz from 2013 to 2013. It shows that, as far as the coverage of civil-military institutions is concerned, the policy of Pakistani newspapers remains the same.

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