Renowned lawyer Asma Jahangir is no more

LAHORE (92 News) – Renowned lawyer and social activist Asma Jahangir has on Sunday passed away in Lahore due to cardiac arrest. She was 66. Details regarding her funeral prayers have not been made public yet. Born and raised in Lahore, Asma Jahangir studied at the Convent of Jesus and Mary before receiving her BA from Kinnaird and LLB from the Punjab University in 1978. In 1980, Jahangir was called to the Lahore High Court (LHC) and to the Supreme Court in 1982. She remained Supreme Court Bar President from 2010 to 2012. Jahangir was a human rights lawyer and social activist who co-founded and chaired the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. Jahangir was widely known for playing a prominent role in the Lawyers' Movement and serves as the trustee at the International Crisis Group. The renowned activist also served as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion from August 2004 to July 2010, including serving on the UN panel for inquiry into Sri Lankan human rights violations and on a fact-finding mission on Israeli settlements. Jahangir secured a number of victories during her life, from winning freedom for bonded labourers from their "owners" through pioneering litigation to a landmark court case that allowed women to marry of their own volition. She was also been an outspoken critic of the country's powerful military establishment, including during her stint as the first-ever female leader of Pakistan's top bar association. The 62-year-old was arrested in 2007 by the government of then military ruler Pervez Musharraf, and in 2012 claimed her life was in danger from the country's feared Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency. Jahangir's supporters and former opponents alike took to social media to offer their condolences and expressed shock at the news of her death. Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, President Mamnoon Hussain and Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Mian Saqib Nisar have expressed deep sorrow and grief over the sad demise of senior advocate of Supreme Court Asma Jahangir. In their condolence message they said that her services will always be remembered in good words in judicial history of Pakistan. "Asma Jahangir was the bravest human being I ever knew. Without her the world is less," wrote prominent lawyer Salman Akram Raja. "I and many others didn't agree with some of her views. But she was a titan. And one of the brightest and bravest ever produced by this country," wrote journalist Wajahat Khan on Twitter.