DefinePK

Abstract

In Afghanistan, misconceptions about Pakistan are widespread. This study aims to understand those misconceptions by examining social media discourses. Facebook is a popular social network in Afghanistan; therefore, between October 2020 and February 2021, the researchers studied the discourses on selected Facebook pages, including those run by news organizations and individual users. Using Critical Discourse Analysis, 205 posts in toto and the comments made on them by users were analysed. The analysis found that Afghans have negative feelings toward Pakistan and Pakistanis, perceiving them as both "others" and "enemies." However, the perception of Pakistan as an enemy state dominated the discourses produced on individually run pages, as well as the comments made by users. The study concludes that all Afghans harbour prejudices against Pakistanis and that the majority regard Pakistan as an enemy state. The researchers recommend more studies on wider Afghan media discourses to validate these findings.