CONSTRUCTING THE IMAGE OF THE PAKISTAN ARMED FORCES IN THE 21st CENTURY

Abstract

This article examines the image of the armed forces of Pakistan in the XXI century. It was revealed that in the 21st century the armed forces of Pakistan and, in particular, a special unit (Inter-Services Public Relations), responsible for public relations, are actively working on constructing the necessary image of the Armed Forces. We see that the strategy of Inter-Services Public Relations covers a large number of channels (social networks, magazines, and so on). The article examines the historical context and various channels of communication: primarily the presence in social networks (both in video and in text format). The construction of the image after the conflict in Kargil in 1999 and the coming to power of P. Musharraf is considered. After these events, an active process was launched to work on the image of the armed forces both in the media and in the ISPR materials. It was revealed that the video materials are primarily aimed at the widest possible audience, also covering various ethnic groups; various problems related to the armed forces (for example, counter-terrorism operations). It is shown that two main directions of image construction can be distinguished: positive-aggressive, that is, armed forces equipped with the most advanced types of weapons that defeat the enemy; emotional – the armed forces value and honor the heroes who gave their lives for their homeland. A special place is occupied by the emotional involvement of the population, as a result of which the image of the armed forces is constructed as a force that protects the Motherland from any enemies, and the hero-soldier turns out to be the object of the nation's love. Much attention is paid to the personality of the Chief of the Army Staff, whose image, similar to the hero soldier, can be seen as the image of the armed forces as a whole.