Human rights champion Asma Jahangir is no more

NEWS DESK: Renowned lawyer and human rights activist Asma Jahangir breathed her last on Sunday at a private hospital where she was admitted last night over cardiac problem. She was 66.

According to reports, she had been suffering from cancer and remained under treatment for years. She was rushed to hospital after falling ill but passed away. Details regarding her funeral prayers and last rites are also awaited.

CJP Mian Saqib Nisar expressed sorrow over her demise and paid tribute to her services.

She was born to a politically active family on January 27, 1952 in Lahore. Jahangir went to the Convent of Jesus and Mary before receiving her Bachelor’s in Arts from Kinnaird and LLB from the Punjab University in 1978.

A younger Asma Jahangir during an anti-Zia protest.

Jahangir was a staunch advocate of human rights and remained the president of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA). She was the first woman to serve as president of the Supreme Court Bar Association. The eminent lawyer ran the AGHS Legal Aid Cell with her sister Hina Jilani that helped women in distress.

She co-founded the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan in 1987 and became its secretary-general until 1993, when she was elevated as the commission’s chairperson. She was also a co-founder of Women’s Action Forum.

Jahangir played an active in the 2007 Lawyers’ Movement, for which she also was put under house arrest.

Her various awards include Hilal-i-Imtiaz in 2010 and a Sitara-i-Imtiaz. She was also awarded a UNESCO/Bilbao Prize for the Promotion of a Culture of Human Rights and an Officier de la Légion d’honneur by France.

She received the 2014 Right Livelihood Award and the 2010 Freedom Award.

(This is a developing story and is being updated accordingly)