ISLAMABAD: A media guide titled `Reporting on Human Rights` was launched by the think tank, Democracy Reporting International (DRI) on Friday in order to provide the Pakistani media a key resource for effective reporting on human rights issues in the country.

The guide includes data which can be helpful for journalists when covering issues that have so far been neglected.

Speaking at the launch, human rights analyst Shafaq Kiani said that a survey by the Pakistan Press Foundation had found that the Pakistani media gives 30pc of its coverage space to political news and just 1.5pc to human rights issues.

She said the media should give more importance to social issues in order to build pressure on the executive for addressing human rights violations.

DRI Country Representative Hassan Nasir Mirbahar said that the first parliamentary committee in Pakistan was established for human rights, which the Quaid had decided to chair himself due to the importance of the issue.

`However, with the passage of time, issues related to human rights were neglected and have not been addressed since. Only the media can now make human rights a priority for the government now with continuous reporting of such issues,` he said.

Highlighting a few examples, he said successive governments were not serious about election reforms but due to pressure from the media, and a few politicians, an election reforms committee was formed.

The media guide also focuses on the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) Plus status of Pakistan, due to which Pakistan can get concessions when doing business with members of the European Union, which is conditional on the human rights situation.

Mr Mirbahar said that a significant portion of the Pakistani business community was unaware of the country`s GSP Plus status and do business with Iran or the UAE when they can get concessions in the EU.

`If they knew about the GSP Plus status of the country, they would care more about human rights issues,` he said, adding that the media should report on the issues that arise when human rights violations are not addressed.

`According to international reports, incidents of violence against women are increasing but successive governments have not taken appropriate action for this. Many cases are not registered with the police which should also be highlighted in the media,` he added.

Advocate Safeer Hussein Shah said that Constitution is not implemented in letter and spirit.

`There is a need for implementing the law and for election reforms because no one will believe in the credibility of elections otherwise,` he said.

Uzbekistan came into being just two and a half decades ago but have brought election reforms due to which no one can question the transparency and credibility of its elections, he said.