Afghan Refugees in Pakistani English Dailies: In Context of Peace Journalism

Abstract

This study aims to analyze Pakistani English dailies' treatment of Afghan immigrants by applying the peace journalism model. Pakistan has hosted millions of Afghan immigrants for more than four decades. Media plays a vibrant part in crafting identities and efficiently diffuses them in society. The researcher keenly monitored the treatment of Afghan refugees in mainstream Pakistani English dailies; Dawn, The News, The Nation, and Daily Times, from August 2021 to August 2022. The unit of analysis was a news story published on any page of a newspaper, a feature, a column, and an opinion piece. A purposive sampling technique was applied to collect the relevant data about Afghan refugees, problems faced by them, and administrative as well as societal pressures at them. Outcomes through content analysis technique and framing theory indicated that a conflict frame succeeded in the majority of all daily writings analyzed. Voice and presence of Afghan refugees seems marginalized.