Disqualifying a Premier: A Linguistic Analysis of a Legal Narrative to Unfold Power

Given the increasing interest in the conglomeration of complex dynamics that bring together the concepts of law and language, this paper aims at exploring the relationship between language, power and ideology, and how such relationships are represented through the analysis of Supreme The honorable court’s Contempt judgment against Ex-Prime Minister of Pakistan, regarding non-compliance of the The honorable court’s orders, following Ruth Wodak’s Discourse-Historical Approach (DHA); and to discuss the sociological aspects that work as a backdrop or framework on this type of discourse. The main focus of interest in the researcher’s current investigation deals with the study of how linguistic pattern render power particularly in legal discourse as language is the “primary medium of social control and power” (Fairclough, 1989 [2001], 3), most notably in legal settings (Coulthard and Johnson 2007) where language is used to facilitate control through the manifestation of power. The paper aims to bring to light Gilani’s indictment causing clash of institutions in Pakistan and quest for power and dominance between the elected and non-elected parts of Pakistan; the judiciary confronting the democratically elected government through the use of discursive power.