POLITICAL RHETORIC JUSTIFYING EMERGENCY: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF MUSHARRAF’S SPEECH

Abstract

The current study critically analyzes General Pervaiz Musharraf’s speech delivered after the Proclamation of Emergency (PoE) in Pakistan in 2007. It attempts to uncover the ideology behind the speech and the persuasive strategies employed by the speaker in order to justify the declaration of emergency on grounds of the doctrine of necessity. The study applies a three-stage model (Charteris-Black, 2014, p. 86) which draws upon critical discourse analysis of public communication. The study informs that President Musharraf arouses the nationalistic interests of the audience and identifies himself with them, justifying his decision on grounds of protecting the solidarity of the country. It further reveals that the emergency stemmed out of his fear of being declared ineligible for the presidential elections by the Supreme Court. He employs hyperbole¹, metonym², contrast³ and various other rhetorical devices to magnify and minimize different leading facts to suit his purpose. This paper will be of significance for linguists, discourse analysts, political scientists, and researchers in International Relations, History and South Asian Studies as as it unveils persuasive rhetoric underpinning an important decision which engendered a marked change in the history of Pakistan