Media, State Narratives and Public Discourse in Pakistan: A Critical Analysis of Pakistan's Saudi Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement (SMDA)

Abstract

The Saudi Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA), signed on 17 September 2025, marks a new epoch of bilateral and strategic partnership between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Focusing on the high-impact influence of state communication, this research paper investigates the alignment, convergence and integration of state-mediated communication in mainstream English-language print media within the framework of Robert Entman's 1993 framing theory. The investigation is grounded in Entman's theory (1993), starting from narrative construction to its impact on the desired target audience. A qualitative content analysis of four mainstream English–language newspapers, i.e Daily Dawn, The News International, The Express Tribune and The Nation, is carried out. The study aimed to evaluate the quintessential elements of the framing model, i.e problem definition, causal attribution, moral evaluation, and policy recommendations, with a view to assessing observable patterns of narrative convergence in the historical milestone of the Saudi Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement (SMDA) 2025 that shaped new horizons in defense, diplomacy and bilateral engagements.