Rights Advocate Asma Jahangir Laid To Rest At Her Bedian Farmhouse

Rights advocate Asma Jahangir laid to rest at her Bedian farmhouse

Human Rights advocate late Asma Jahangir was laid to rest at her Bedian Road farmhouse late Tuesday after thousands of mourners crammed in a stadium to offer her funeral prayer.

LAHORE, (Pakistan Point News - 13th Feb, 2018) : Human Rights advocate late Asma Jahangir was laid to rest at her Bedian Road farmhouse late Tuesday after thousands of mourners crammed in a stadium to offer her funeral prayer. Jahangir, referred to as the moral compass by a section of the society, died of cardiac arrest on Sunday at the age of 66. Funeral prayer of the noted rights lawyer was offered outside Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

A large number of people from all walks of life, including retired judges and lawyers as well as politicians and bureaucrats, attended the funeral held at the Gaddafi Stadium. Lawyers, judges including Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Yawar Ali Shah and citizens also participated in the funeral led by Haider Farooq Maududi. Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar, former premier Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Shehbaz Sharif, Senator Aitzaz Ahsan, Chief Election Commissioner Sardar Muhammad Raza Khan and others expressed condolences over her demise.

Asma Jahangir had won many national as well as international awards including Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders in 1995, Hilal-i-Imtiaz in 2010, and various others. She was co-founder of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and also chaired it. Her untimely demise saddened not only the entire nation, but rights activists around the globe, who termed her death a setback for the cause of advocating human rights. Jahangir was known for her fight against dictatorships, oppressors, and belief in the rule of law and the norms of democratic polity as well as services to abused women and children.

Born in Lahore in 1952, Asma was educated in the city. In 1980, she was called to the Lahore High Court, and to the Supreme Court in 1982. She was first arrested in 1983 for partaking in the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD) against then military dictator General Ziaul Haq. She was put under house arrest in 2007 by the military regime of retired Gen Pervez Musharraf for playing an instrumental role in the Movement for Independence of the Judiciary. She co-founded the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan in 1987 and remained its secretary for quite some time. Owing to her struggle and dedication to public service, the Commission earned global recognition for raising voice for religious minorities, downtrodden women and children.