LAHORE: Eminent lawyer and leading human rights activist Asma Jahangir was laid to rest on Tuesday. The funeral prayers, offered at the Gaddafi Stadium Complex, were attended by thousands of people who paid heartfelt tribute to the champion of progressive causes in Pakistan.

Ms Jahangir died of a brain haemorrhage on Sunday at the age of 66.

“The whole world salutes you,” read a banner at the entrance of Gaddafi Stadium where the preparations for her funeral prayers had been made.

In attendance were people from all walks of life — government functionaries, politicians, lawyers, rights activists, writers, journalists and civil society members — as well as family members. Religious scholar Farooq Maududi, son of Jamaat-i-Islami founder Abul Ala Maududi, led the funeral prayers.

Qul will be held at Ms Jahangir’s Hali Road residence on Wednesday (today) at 3pm. The late activist lawyer is survived by her husband, a son and two daughters.

A large number of members of the Women Action Forum, lawyers, activists and friends arrived at Ms Jahangir’s residence to pay their final respects. Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani, former foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, retired Justice Nasira Iqbal, Lahore High Court Chief Justice Mohammad Yawar Ali, ministers Khawaja Saad Rafique and Kamran Michael, former federal information minister Pervaiz Rashid, provincial minister Khalil Tahir Sindhu, PCB Chairman Najam Sethi, MNA Nafeesa Shah, PPP’s Qamar Zaman Kaira and Chaudhry Manzoor, Senator Aitzaz Ahsan, PTI’s Waleed Iqbal, rights activist and senior journalist I.A. Rahman, renowned architect Nayyar Ali Dada, Awami Workers Party (AWP) leader Farooq Tariq, and a large number of lawyers offered the funeral prayers.

As the funeral procession made its way from Ms Jahangir’s residence to the Gaddafi Stadium, Mr Tariq of the AWP led a volley of sloganeering, along with rights activists, party workers and brick kiln workers, to pay tribute to Ms Jahangir.

The Gaddafi Stadium venue was cordoned off with a high security alert, and all who came to grieve, passed through a three-tier security check.

Earlier during the day, scores of people arrived at her house to offer condolences to the grieving family and pay tribute to the champion of human rights in Pakistan.

The legal fraternity observed its second day of mourning of the demise of Ms Jahangir in adherence to a call from the Pakistan Bar Council.

The lawyers appeared only in cases of urgent nature and spent the rest of their day in barrooms.

A large number of lawyers, including elected representatives of the bar, attended the funeral of Ms Jahangir.

She was finally laid to rest at her family’s farmhouse on Bedian Road.

Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2018