Framing Peace and Conflict: A Discourse Analysis of Pakistani Elite Press on Post-Pulwama Attack

This study investigates the post-Pulwama coverage of the Pakistani English-language media from 2020 to 2024 regarding India, particularly around India's commemoration of 14 February as “Black Day.” Using Galtung's peace and war model, the study examines post-Pulwama narratives and conflict escalation strategies through critical discourse analysis. Findings reveal that war journalism frames, such as aggression, violence, accusations, and retaliation, dominate Pakistani media along with the content controlled by the military and government, with rare peace-oriented perspectives. The study further finds that the negative frames are due to the source of news from the military and government officials against India. Furthermore, the Pakistani press mostly uses ideological terms such as “us” to show itself as the victim of Indian aggression and a peace-loving country while showing animosity towards “them.”