Pak HR activist wins prestigious award

Honour

Islamabad

Sara Bilal, the executive director of the Justice Project Pakistan (JPP), a non-governmental organisation working to provide free legal aid to the poor Pakistani prisoners at home as well as abroad, won the first edition of the Franco-German Prize for Human Rights and the Rule of Law.

The Ambassador of France to Pakistan, Mrs Martine Dorance, speaking at the screening of a documentary at the Embassy Auditorium on Thursday afternoon, announced that it was a matter of great honour for Pakistan and its people that Sara Bilal, a human rights activists, has been selected for the first edition of the award, jointly established by the governments of France and Germany.

“She will be presented the prestigious award at a special ceremony being held in Berlin, Germany this (Thursday) evening by the Foreign Ministers of both France and the Republic of Germany. This indeed is a matter of great pride for the country and the people of Pakistan,” the French envoy said amidst a good round of applause.

Sarah Bilal qualified as a Barrister after completing the Bar Vocational Course in 2007. She obtained her license to practice in Pakistan in 2008 and gained rights of audience in the High Court in 2008. She studied law at Oxford University and did her professional legal training in Lahore with Azam Nazeer Tarrar and Ramday Law Associates.

Sara Bilal established the JPP in Lahore in 2009 as a non-profit, human rights law firm in Lahore, Pakistan providing pro bono (free) legal advice and investigative services to those facing the death penalty, those who have suffered police torture, are mentally ill, or are victims in the war on terror.

Acknowledging JPP and Sarah’s work, ‘Reprieve’, a UK-based non-profit organisation that provides legal assistance to people who suffer extreme human rights abuses at the hands of the most powerful governments, awarded Sarah a legal fellowship in 2009. In 2012, Sarah won
the prestigious Echoing Green Global Fellowship – making JPP the first
Pakistani organization to be recognized in the fellowship’s twenty-five year history.