Asma Jahangir
I had to face imprisonment and house arrests, but it made me tougher. As a lawyer, many a time I took up difficult and sensitive cases dealing with minorities' and women's rights. Yes, I constantly receive threats, and to be very honest, at times it is very scary. But I have to continue my work.
Asma Jahangir has been a critic of the military's policies in the province of Balochistan, where extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and reports of torture are common. She is one of the founders and served as Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), which has been active in highlighting human rights violations by the Pakistani military and intelligence services. Asma Jahangir served as UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions from 1998 to 2004 and as Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief from 2004 to mid-2010. She is the current President of the Supreme Court Bar Association.
Asma passed away on 11 February 2018 in Lahore, Pakistan.
Pakistan is one of the most challenging countries in the region for human rights defenders, who face high risks including killing, arbitrary arrest and detention, abduction and kidnapping, surveillance, threats and judicial harassment. Many HRDs have had their offices attacked or burnt down and their colleagues killed.
