UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras
The United States is paying tribute to the memory of Pakistani human rights champion Asma Jahangir, calling her untimely death of the global icon as a “great loss to the world.”
“We join Pakistan and others around the world in mourning the untimely death of Pakistani human rights and democracy advocate, Asma Jahangir,” State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a statement.
Known for her fearless and often successful struggles for rights of women, minorities and the victimized, Asma Jahangir died of cardiac arrest on Sunday at the age of 66.
The U.S. State Department noted in the statement that for years, Jahangir “courageously defended the rights of those who did not have a voice, and championed the rule of law, democracy, and human rights including freedom of religion or belief.”
Her work in Pakistan, including as a founder and chair of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, and with the United Nations and groups such as the International Crisis Group and the South Asia Forum for Human Rights, made her a global icon in human rights,” it said
The spokesperson noted that most recently Jahangir served as the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran, “tirelessly fighting on behalf of the Iranian people as they demanded freedom, dignity, and respect for human rights.
“As the third UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Religion or Belief, she improved the world’s understanding of the plight of religious minorities worldwide through her in-depth research and sustained engagements and fought for the protection of the persecuted.
“Her death is a great loss to the world and she will be missed as a champion of her country, its people, and the millions more around the world on whose behalf she spoke.”
In Lahore, Jahangir’s hometown, thousands of people attended her funeral at the Gaddafi Cricket Stadium, where religious scholar Hyder Farooq Maudoodi led the funeral prayers at the adjacent LCCA Ground.
In contrast to orthodox Islam traditions, hundreds of women also attended the funeral prayers of the late human rights activist.
Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani, former foreign minister Khursheed Mahmood Kasuri, Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping Mir Hasil Bijenjo, Justice Nasira Iqbal (retd), Chief Justice Lahore High Court Moahammad Yawar Ali were among those attended the prayers.
As per her will, Asma Jahangir will be laid to rest at her farmhouse located at Bedian Road, outside Lahore. She was the first woman to become President of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan, besides heading the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.
