Voice for human rights, democracy & defiance is no more: Asma Jahangir passes away

LAHORE: Prominent lawyer and human rights activist Asma Jahangir passed away on Sunday after suffering from cardiac arrest. She was 66 and survived by one son and two daughters.

She was rushed to hospital on Saturday night and died the following day, her daughter Muneeze Jahangir said. Family sources said Jahangir's funeral would be held on February 13 as a family member is in London.

Officials at the private hospital where Jahangir died said she was brought to the hospital unconscious after suffering from brain haemorrhage resulting from a stroke. Despite several attempts to bring her blood pressure back to normal, she breathed her last in a state of unconsciousness.

Jahangir’s sister, lawyer and human rights activist Hina Jilani, said: “The way she [Asma] lived, it’s not just the family’s loss but also of those who are voiceless.” Earlier, her daughter, journalist Muneeze, shared on Twitter that the family was awaiting relatives to return to Lahore before the funeral.

Jahangir was the chair of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and respected for her outspoken criticism of military dictators and her record as an activist. She was also the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association and served as the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran since 2016. A fierce defender of democracy, she was on the Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential women. She was a founding member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. She along with her sister Hina Jillani set up first legal aid cell for women in Pakistan. She was imprisoned in 1983 for her work with the Movement to Restore Democracy during General Zia-ul-Haq’s military rule. She was placed under house arrest in 2007 for her part in a lawyers movement that helped lead to military ruler Pervez Musharraf stepping down and restoration of deposed judges of superior courts.

Bar associations across the country have announced three days of mourning and won’t attend courts. Pakistan People's Party Senator Aitzaz Ahsan said she was a very brave woman and always fought against patriarchy and oppression. He said she never feared or backed down from saying what she wanted to say.

Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf said her death came as a national loss and her work for women rights and democracy would be etched in history.

Ex-president SC bar Ali Zafar said the services rendered by Asma Jahangir for the basic rights of people and struggle for the marginalised would never be forgotten. She was known for taking up court cases of marginalised sections of the society as well as speaking against human rights violations and her courageous stand against General Zia-ul-Haq.

She rose to prominence in early age when he father Malik Ghulam Jillani was arrested in 1972 under the martial law of military dictator Yahya Khan. She had approached the Lahore High Court through a constitutional petition. A year later, after the end of Yahya Khan’s rule, the court decided the case and declared the military rule unconstitutional and Yahya Khan a “usurper”. She received several accolades for her work on human rights.

Jahangir was also a vocal opponent of judicial overreach and often confronted the superior judiciary when it extended its jurisdiction in her opinion.

In the last post on her Twitter account, Jahangir cautioned the Supreme Court of Pakistan from selectively using the contempt of court law.

She was born in Lahore on January 27, 1952. She completed her Bachelor of Arts and Law from Lahore and then went on to pursue higher legal studies from Switzerland, Canada and the US. Jahangir taught constitutional law at the Quaid-e-Azam Law College Lahore. She conducted consultancy on judicial reforms in Pakistan and Bangladesh for the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank. She remained a member of the Commission of Enquiry for Women from 1994 to 1997.

From 1998 to 2000, Jahangir served as special rapporteur of the UN Commission on Extrajudicial and Arbitrary Executions. She was also the special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief of the UN Commission on Human Rights since 2004. She was an executive member of the International Crisis Group and a chief economist advisory council member of the World Bank since 2001. She was the founding member of Women’s Action Forum Pakistan.

She received several awards including the 2014 Right Livelihood Award, 2010 Freedom Award, Hilal-e-Imtiaz in 2010 and Sitara-e-Imtiaz, UNESCO/Bilbao Prize for the Promotion of Culture of Human Rights in 2010 and Officier de la Légion d'honneur from France in 2014. The Legion of Honour is the highest French award. At present, she was a partner at the AGHS Law Associates and head of its legal aid cell.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqib Nisar and other judges have expressed grief on her demise. They have extended their heartfelt condolences to her family members. The judges praised her services for independence of judiciary, rule of law and supremacy of Constitution in the country and said her services would always be remembered in good words in the judicial history of Pakistan. She was an outspoken and courageous lady, and had risen to prominence by sheer dint of hard work, diligence and commitment to the legal profession. They prayed to Allah Almighty to shower His blessings upon the departed soul and give patience to the bereaved family to bear this irreparable loss.

The Lahore High Court chief justice also expressed grief over the demise. He said she rendered matchless services in the field of human rights and would always be remembered.

Agencies add: CJP Mian Saqib Nisar also visited the residence of Jahangir on Sunday. President Mamnoon Hussain, PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani, Chief Election Commissioner Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza, Punjab Governor Rafique Rajwana, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, PTI Chairman Imran Khan, PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto nad ANP chief Asfandyar Wali have condoled the death. They said Asma Jahangir struggled for democracy and rule of law during her whole life.