PAKISTAN PERSPECTIVE

Pakistani media coverage reveals a deeply defensive and victimizing perspective on the oil crisis. The media constructs a narrative in which Pakistan appears as an 'innocent first victim' of the Middle Eastern conflict, unjustly suffering the economic consequences of a conflict in which it does not participate. This victimizing posture is particularly striking in comparison with India, presented as having better managed the crisis by maintaining stable prices, revealing a regional inferiority complex. The tone oscillates between economic alarmism and the search for pragmatic solutions, with dramatizing language ('bombarding ordinary citizens', 'destroying an already sick economy') that amplifies the perception of crisis. Coverage systematically privileges domestic impacts—inflation, tax burden, export competitiveness—at the expense of broader geopolitical analysis of the Iran-Israel conflict. This introspective approach reflects the priorities of a country concerned above all with its fragile economic stability and energy dependence. The media adopt a technocratic framing centered on government crisis management, highlighting federal-provincial consultations and conservation measures, suggesting confidence in institutional capacity to navigate the crisis. However, the silences are revealing: no analysis of the geostrategic stakes of the Strait of Hormuz, little contextualization of Pakistan's regional alliances, and a minimization of the sectarian dimensions of the Middle Eastern conflict that could resonate in Pakistani society.