US describes Asma Jehangir’s death great loss to World
WASHINGTON, (MILLAT ONLINE):US describes Asma Jehangir”s death great loss to World“ The US State Department on Tuesday paid rich tribute to renowned Pakistani human rights activist and lawyer, Asma Jahangir, saying she championed the rule of law, democracy and human rights around the world.
Asma Jahangir died on Sunday of heart attack at the age of 66. She won international awards and served as the United Nations rapporteur on human rights and extrajudicial killings.
“Her passing is a great loss to the world, and she will be missed as a champion in her country, its people, and millions more around the world,” said State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert, who expressed condolences from the US government at the start of the press briefing.
“We would like to say that we like to join the Government of Pakistan and others around the world in mourning the passing of a Pakistani human rights and democracy advocate “For years Ms. Jahangir courageously defended the rights of those who did not have a voice.
Paying tributes to Asma Jahangir, the spokesperson said that as a global icon in human rights, she founded and chaired the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. She served as the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association. Most recently, she served as UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, tirelessly fighting on behalf of the Iranian people as they demanded freedom, dignity, and human rights.
Asma Jahangir was also paid tributes by the US and Canadian media. In an obituary published in the New York Times, she was described as the “Fearless Pakistani Rights Activist”.
Jahangir, a human rights lawyer, had a reputation for speaking truth to power and defending the weak and the marginalized and women and minorities against injustice,” the paper wrote.
“Ms. Jahangir never minced words while defending democracy and human rights, ” the paper noted, and eulogized her for championing the rights of religious minorities and women.
“An active member of bar politics, she was the first female president of the Pakistan Supreme Court’s Bar Association. Till her death, she spoke out against corruption in the legal community and advocated judicial reform,” the paper said.
US national radio, NPR, also remembered the Pakistani lawyer for her fierce defense of human rights, especially women and minorities. The radio also broadcast extracts of her interview she gave to the radio in 2001.
A Canadian publication, Toronto Sun, also published a news about her death, saying that for 40 years, the lioness of Pakistan stood alone,†in her fight for human rights, democracy and against militancy. (APP/zh)