Abstract
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project is considered as the game changer for not only Pakistan but for whole region as well. It is a project of connectivity and infrastructure building to enhance the indigenous, regional as well as global connectivity. Iran and Afghanistan are the nearest neighboring countries of Pakistan to the CPEC. They also have vested interests in CPEC due to its geo-strategic importance. This study discusses the framing of CPEC in cross-national comparative fashion in press of Iran and Afghanistan. Iran and Afghanistan being territorial neighbors shares certain interests, reservations and apprehensions related to CPEC. Two English newspapers of Afghanistan and Iran were selected and all the news and editorials related to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor were collected for analysis for the period of 2015-2017. Finding reveals that there are significant differences in the framing of CPEC. Afghan press heavily focused on development as well as inequality frames. Coverage of CPEC in Iranian press is minimal and neutral. Moreover, there slant and use of sources of information also varies. Afghanistan covered it favorable as well as unfavorable manners while the coverage in Iranian press was found neutral. Moreover, framing of CPEC varies over the time in the press of Iran and Afghanistan. Findings imply that Pakistan should made efforts to develop better relations with Iran by considering Chabhar as sister port to Gwadar rather than rival. Study also suggests that policy making is needed to reduce the negative stance and communication differences of Afghan press towards CPEC.
Keyword(s)
Framing, Sino-Pak relations, Cross-national framing, Content Analysis, News Sources