Pakistani rights activist Asma Jahangir passes away

Lahore: Renowned Pakistani human rights activist and lawyer Asma Jahangir passed away here on Sunday, She was 66.

The cause of her death has not been confirmed but media reports suggested that she died due to a cardiac arrest.

Jahangir was born on January 27, 1952 in Lahore.

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She received a Bachelors' degree from Kinnaird College and an LLB from Punjab University. She was called to the Lahore High Court in 1980 and to the Supreme Court in 1982.

She later went on to become the first woman to serve as President of the Supreme Court Bar Association.

Jahangir became a democracy activist and was jailed in 1983 for participating in the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy, which rallied against military dictator Zia-ul-Haq's regime.

She was also active in the 2007 lawyers' movement for which she was put under house arrest, reports Dawn news.

The activist co-founded the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and the Women's Action Forum.

Jahangir was also awarded a UNESCO/Bilbao Prize for the Promotion of a Culture of Human Rights and an Officier de la Légion d'honneur by France.

She received the 2014 Right Livelihood Award and the 2010 Freedom Award.

IANS