DOI: 10.31703/girr.2023(VI-II).03
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.31703/girr.2023(VI-II).03
Corresponding Author: Syed Inam ur Rahman (Assistant Professor, Department of Media and
Communication Studies,
International Islamic University,
Islamabad, Pakistan.
Email:
Syed.inamrahman@iiu.edu.pk )
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Citation: Zafar, A., Rahman, S. I. U., & Asif, M. (2023). Operation Zarb-e-Azb in the Global
Wire Services: A Framing Analysis. Global International Relations Review, VI(II), 18-28.
https://doi.org/10.31703/girr.2023(VI-I).03
Vol. VI, No. II (Spring 2023)
Operation Zarb-e-Azb in the Global Wire Services: A Framing
Analysis
Abstract:
Pakistan has become a victim of terrorism after its involvement in the ongoing war on terror. The
country has lost thousands of civilians and security personnel in this American-led war. Though, Pakistan has
always been treated negatively by the media organizations of elite nations. Operation Zarb-e-Azb was a
combined military action of the Pakistan army against the armed insurgent groups in North Waziristan which
was launched in the year 2014. The current study attempted to examine the framing of Operation Zarb-e-Azb
in global wire services. For this purpose, AFP, AP and Reuters were selected. Through the technique of
convenient sampling, a total of 300 news items from the entire period of operation were selected for analysis.
Quantitative as well as qualitative content analysis and interpretive analysis have been used as a research
design for this study. The results indicated that the global wire services framed the news stories of military
operations in a positive way. The terrorism and militant threat frame was more dominant in global wires as
compared to other frames. The results also revealed that the global wires framed this operation differently by
representing the foreign policy and interests of their respective states.
Key Words: Operation Zarb-e-Azb, Global Wires, Framing, AFP, AP, Reuters
Introduction
A news agency is considered an organization
which gathers the news and presents them to all
journalistic outlets. A wire service is an
organization that collects, writes and delivers the
news to radio, television, newspapers, magazines
and other outlets including governmental and
non-governmental organizations nationally and
internationally(Snape, 2016). These wires do not
publish these news stories but only distribute and
sell them to their subscribers who otherwise
M.Phil, Department of Media and Communication Studies,
International Islamic University, Islamabad,
Pakistan.
Assistant Professor, Department of Media and Communication Studies, International Islamic University,
Islamabad, Pakistan.
Lecturer, National Institute of Pakistan Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
cannot afford to approach these news stories.
Almost, the whole media have to rely on these
sources except a few news organizations who
have the resources to approach these news
events. At the same time, the global news wires
are the organizations whose main purpose is to
gather and retail the news stories to the world's
media including the governments and private
institutions. News agencies are considered the
most fascinating and glitzy source of
information. They epitomize the national and
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