Reporting faith-based persecution: Speakers urge journalists to be fully mindful of language, sensitivities

KARACHI: Speakers at a media training workshop emphasized that journalists should be careful in their language and understand the sensitivities while reporting on incidents of faith-based persecution and rights violations, noting that adhering to a rational framework would be crucial for impact journalism.

They underlined that journalists should avoid asking ‘loaded’ questions, rather these should be investigative in nature to explore the truth.

The media experts and human rights practitioners spoke on Monday at the workshop, “Reporting Rights Violations and Faith-Based Persecution in Pakistan”. Journalists and social media content creators took part in the event organized by the Islamabad-based Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) at a local hotel.

Interactive discussions provided an opportunity for participants to share experiences and adopt best practices for balanced and impactful reporting on rights violations, and instances of faith-based persecution and hate speech. With practical examples, they were also sensitized to methods of identifying fake news on social media.

Senior journalist and columnist Wusat Ullah Khan said that journalists should be careful in their language while reporting on issues of religious and ethnic minorities. “Their work should remain close to reality while maintaining a rational framework”, he added. He said that a journalist must understand the sensitivities of any area while reporting on a certain issue.

Blogger and columnist Farnood Alam, in his session on “Debunking the Blasphemy Gang”, explained how youth were trapped on social media and ultimately became victims of the anti-blasphemy law. He highlighted that the number of registered blasphemy cases during the last five years has increased manifold compared to the previous years since enforcement of strict anti-blasphemy legislation in 1980’s.

PIPS President Muhammad Amir Rana, in his concluding session, said that journalists must learn the skill of critical thinking for better analysis and to report effectively on rights violations. The second element, he said, is the acquisition and use of accurate data for impactful journalism. He noted that personal biases of journalists based on religious, ethnic and political grounds should not reflect in their work.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025