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| Aitzaz leaves for US to receive award |
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Tuesday, October 20, 2009
WASHINGTON: Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) will present the 2009 Defender of Democracy Award to former federal minister and leader of the lawyers’ movement Aitzaz Ahsanm in a ceremony to be held on the evening of October 20, 2009 at the United States Library of Congress in Washington, DC.
The ceremony will be conducted in conjunction with PGA’s 31st Annual Parliamentary Forum, which is being hosted at the US Congress by PGA’s International Councillor Sen Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and its congressional members Rep Jim McDermott (D-Washington), Rep Carolyn Maloney (D-New York) among others.
Since 1996, PGA has held the Defender of Democracy Awards in conjunction with its Annual Parliamentary Forum. The Defender of Democracy Award is presented to individuals who, through their own commitment and active engagement, have made significant progress in strengthening democracy and democratic practices. Some past recipients include HE Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia, Mary Robinson, former United Nations high commissioner for human rights, and Lakhdar Brahimi, former special representative of the UN Secretary-General for Afghanistan.
The award is in recognition of the major role played by Aitzaz Ahsan in the last two years during the lawyers’ movement, which led to the restoration of democracy in Pakistan and the reinstatement of independent judges.
The award acknowledges the services of the lawyers’ leader as a parliamentarian, who dedicated himself to the revival of the Constitution, sovereignty of parliament and rule of law.
The citation of the award also states that “Ahsan is being honoured by PGA for his distinguished life-long career as a constitutional law and human rights expert and former minister and parliamentarian who has defended political prisoners from all parties in Pakistan. Ahsan accompanied President Kim Dae Jung of Korea and Dr Kamal Hussain, former foreign minister of Bangladesh to the United Nations to elaborate and advance the cause of democracy in Burma on behalf of Nobel Laureate Madam Aung Sung Suu Kyi and the Forum for the Democratic Leaders of Asia-Pacific. Ahsan is one of Pakistan’s leading constitutional and human rights attorneys. Educated at Cambridge University, called to the Bar at Gray’s Inn, Ahsan has defended scores of political prisoners in military court trials, including former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, lead counsel for Mukhtar Mai, gang-rape victim of village council “justice” whose resistance became a national and international cause celebre. He has most recently been the defence counsel for the chief justice of Pakistan while serving as Supreme Court Bar Association president. In a parallel political career, Ahsan served as member of parliament, provincial and national, 1976-2007; minister for law and justice; minister for interior and minister for education”. —PR
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ISSN 1563-9479 
