Foreign Policy Analysis of Pakistan: based on the content analysis of the English and Urdu newspapers.

This thesis seeks to examine the main issues of Pakistan foreign policy and to pursue an assessment of the insights of critical policy issues, as reflected in the front pages articles of country English and Urdu newspapers. The aim of this study, in other words, is to identify and describe the Pakistan different policy issues and its importance in the region as well as international level. This thesis asks; why Pakistan is an important country to be studied in international relations and what are important foreign policy issues which shaping its external posture? And how the print press reported these important issues in their front pages headlines? In order to answer this research question, this study presents a content analysis methodology of the press and foreign policy relations during times of regional as well as international issues. It combines theories of mass communications and international relations, with emphasis on the roles and functions of the media and the different positions adopted by the press vis-à-vis government foreign policy. The content analysis methodology is then applied to the Pakistan during the time span (2006-2008 and 2011–2013), by examining commentary and news headlines from The Dawn and The Express newspapers. The findings and conclusions regarding strong and significant correlations among media content and policy clarify the different roles of the press during various stages of regional as well as international issues. They shed new light on scholars’ and practitioners’ understanding of the complex nature of these relationships, during both times of crisis and more generally.