The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) ( ur, ), is the media and PR wing of the

Pakistan Armed Forces The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the military forces of Pakistan. It is the world's sixth-largest military measured by active military personnel and consist of three formally uniformed services—the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, which are ...

. It broadcasts and coordinates military news and information to the country's civilian media and the

civic society In the United Kingdom, a civic society is a voluntary body or society which aims to represent the needs of a local community. Some also take the role of an amenity society. A civic society may campaign for high standards of planning of new build ...

. The ISPR directorate serves the purpose of aiming to strengthen

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...

with the

, and civil society through interacting with the media. The directorate also works as the principle voice of the Pakistan's

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

, with its

director-general A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer, within a governmen ...

serving as the official spokesperson of the

armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

. In addition, the ISPR provides funds to assist produce pro-military public relations media.

Overview

The Directorate of the Inter–Services Public Relations (ISPR) was established in 1949 with

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

colonel Shahbaz Khan becoming its first director-general. The ISPR operates as a unified public relations system for the Pakistan's

, which combined

air force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

, and

marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refl ...

. The ISPR manage the public relations requirement of the armed forces, and is staffed with the combined personnel of the

along with civilian officers. It functions at the Joint Staff Headquarters (JS HQ) and plays an important role for gathering a national support for the

at the public level. The ISPR also aims to strengthen support for the

's assigned contingency operations while undermining the perceived stature of the adversary. In views of

US army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

colonel John Adache, the ISPR interfaces between the

, civil media, and the

. Furthermore, the ISPR also formulates the media policy of the unified

, and aims to safeguard the military interests of the

from negative sentiment. The ISPR also monitors international and domestic media, surveying the nature of international reporting regarding Pakistan's military issues. On a regular basis, the ISPR broadcasts televised news regarding the strategic operations in foreign and domestic areas. In Pakistan's military staff appointments and assignments, the ISPR is often perceived as one of the most prestigious directorates of

. Its executive authority, a

, is a chief military spokesperson of the Pakistan Armed Forces who reports to

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...

of Joint Chiefs of Staff Secretariat; Chief of Army Staff as well the head also directly report to Chief of Air Staff,

Commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...

Marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refl ...

, and the Chief of Naval Staff.

Operations

The ISPR directorate is staffed with combined personnel of Pakistan's unified

along with civilian

bureaucrats A bureaucrat is a member of a bureaucracy and can compose the administration of any organization of any size, although the term usually connotes someone within an institution of government. The term ''bureaucrat'' derives from "bureaucracy", w ...

and officials. The ISPR functioned at the JS HQ and responsible for garnering national support for the

as well as strengthen their resolve to accomplish the assigned mission while undermining the will of the adversary. It also acts as an interface between the armed forces, the media and the public. It formulates much of the media policy of Pakistan's military, safeguards the armed forces from negative influences and monitors both international and domestic media. It is likely that the army is planning the further expansion of ISPR to counter negative propaganda against the state and armed forces by international powers and their funded domestic media campaigns, in ongoing operation against terror outfits and economic terrorism. That's why, for the first time in its history ISPR was being led by a three-star general, Lt-General Asim Saleem Bajwa.

Principal media network

On regular basis, the ISPR release televised press releases on regarding the ongoing

military exercises A military exercise or war game is the employment of military resources in training for military operations, either exploring the effects of warfare or testing strategies without actual combat. This also serves the purpose of ensuring the comb ...

, and notified the civilian media about the ingenious strategic arsenal testings. Apart from functioning as the public relations body of the

, the ISPR handles exclusive dissemination of information regarding Pakistan's ongoing military contingency operations.

Controversies

In recent years, there have been accusations of ISPR going beyond its domain and meddling in media affairs to undermine democracy. Concerns have been raised on ISPR handling media channels such as Bol TV and Pak TV and radio stations such as FM 89.04, FM 96.00 to indoctrinate pro-military narrative. ISPR has regularly been criticized for posting inflammatory tweets on their official Twitter account. In April 2017, Lieutenant Gen Asif Ghafoor (a BPS-21 officer) posted a tweet 'rejecting' Prime Minister's directives to probe Dawn Leaks controversy. After huge public outcry over the choice of words, ISPR had to redact its earlier tweet.

Media productions

Since the 1990s, the ISPR has been producing miniseries, drama, and films on military fiction. The first ISPR drama was Sunehray Din which was released in 1991. Some of the most famous dramas of ISPR include

Ehd-e-Wafa ''Ehd-e-Wafa'' () is a Pakistani television series created by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) and Momina Duraid under MD Productions aired on Hum TV. It revolves around four school friends with different hopes, goals and aspirations an ...

, Waar,

Shahpar The GIDS Shahpar is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) built by Global Industrial Defence Solutions of Pakistan and used by the Pakistani military. It is currently in production following the completion of a test and qualification phase. Develop ...

and

Ek Thi Marium ''Ek Thi Marium'' ( ) is a 2016 Pakistani biographical television film based on the life of Pakistani female fighter pilot Marium Mukhtiar. Produced by Nina Kashif, it is directed by Sarmad Sultan Khoosat and written by Umera Ahmad. It features ...

. Apart from dramas, the ISPR has also released many songs with the first one being titled "Rang Layega Shaheedon Ka Lahoo" which was released in 2009. ISPR has also released documentary films with the first one being The Glorious Resolve, released in 2011. ISPR is well known for its media productions.

List of ISPR Director Generals

References

External links

''ISPR'' Official website
{{Authority control Mass media of the military of Pakistan 1947 establishments in Pakistan Government agencies established in 1947 Military broadcasting