https://arab.news/cwc5s
- Rehman won many international awards, was director of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan since 1990
- He never minced words in defending democracy and championed the rights of Pakistan’s religious minorities
ISLAMABAD: Tributes poured in on Monday for Ibn Abdur Rehman, famously known as I A Rehman, a leading Pakistani rights activist and journalist and fearless critic of democracy, who died in Lahore at the age of 90.
Rehman was a protégé of the great Urdu poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz and became chief editor of the Pakistan Times newspaper in 1989. He wrote a regular column for Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper until a few days before he died. He was the founding chair of the Pakistan-India Peoples’ Forum for Peace and Democracy and a director of the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) since 1990.
His death was announced by the HRCP:
Rehman had died of old age and high sugar and blood pressure levels, HRCP secretary-general Harris Khalique said.
Rehman had a reputation for speaking truth to power and defending the weak and the marginalized against injustice. He gained international acclaim for being the conscience of a country where liberal, secular voices have continuously been under threat and never minced his words while defending democracy and speaking against military rulers. He was known around the world for championing the rights of Pakistan’s religious minorities.
Paying homage to Rehman, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Pakistan had lost a “true icon“:
Human rights minister Shireen Mazari said Rehman had “steadfastly” stood by what he believed in:
Science and technology minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said “a giant intellectual and humanitarian” was no more:
Sherry Rehman, a lawmaker from the opposition Pakistan People’s Party, called Rehman an “icon of integrity”:
The World Organization Against Torture called Rehman “a giant of human rights”:
“A very sad day for human rights,” opposition ANP party leader Bushra Gohar tweeted:
EU ambassador to Pakistan, Androulla Kaminara, said rights defenders like Rehman “remind us of the fundamental values we should all aspire to”:
Renowned journalist Najam Sethi said “the light of our times” has passed away:
LUMS professor and popular columnist Umair Javed wrote on Twitter:
“IA Rehman sb, a singular force for progressive ideals and, very frequently, just plain common sense in Pakistan’s public sphere, is no more. What a great loss.”
New York Times journalist and author Declan Walsh said he had “learned much from him” when he was a reporter in Pakistan: