Muhammad Akbar Khan, PhD * Abdullah Jan Abid, PhD ** Rationalized Rules: A Critical Metaphor Analysis of Selected Autobiographical Political Discourse ABSTRACT This paper aims at giving a critical analysis of the metaphors employed by Benazir Bhutto and General Musharraf in their political autobiographies, viz., Daughter of the East and In the Line of Fire, respectively. The issues of identity, power and their rationalization and ideology are the main concern and focus in the selected political discourses. The selected authors represent two types of ruling classes in Pakistan, the civilians and the military Generals. Both these classes achieved power and ruled the country right from its establishment since 1947. Both of them blamed each other for the adverse economic and social conditions and claimed their role as constructive one. The main idea behind the study is regarding the usage of language by the politicians for the rationalization of their rule and role. So, many linguistic techniques have been detected in their discourse but the focus is only on one rhetorical device that is the use of metaphor. The methodology is adopted from the paradigm of * Assistant Professor, Department of English in Leeds University, Lahore, Pakistan ** Assistant Professor, Department of Pakistani Languages, Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad, Pakistan