Laraib Nisar
Ibn Abdur Rehman often mentioned as I.A. Rehman passed away in Lahore. He was a journalist and one of the most prominent human rights advocates in Pakistan.
“One becomes richer and certainly not poorer by sharing one’s wisdom with less fortunate human beings”, wrote I.A Rehman in his last column published only four days ago.
In his 65 years long service in the journalism industry, he largely worked for advocating human rights in Pakistan.
Apart from publishing hundreds of articles and papers, he had authored three books: Jinnah as a Parliamentarian (co-editor), Arts and Crafts of Pakistan, and Pakistan under Siege, a collection of his own columns.
Rehman worked as director of HRCP for two decades and was also the group’s secretary general till 31 December, 2016.
With the news of his demise, condolences pooled in from all across the country highlighting the virtue he created during his era through his extensive work. He was one of the very few figures in Pakistan’s journalism sector who worked to free our people from the clutches of class privilege, ethnic-racial domination, and patriarchy.
With the journalism sector already on a qualitative decline, Rehman’s death is a huge shock and has left open an unfillable void. It is high time for the young journalists to learn few lessons from the iconic figure and streamline their professional postures accordingly. People like I.A. Rehman are born once in centuries, and we hope that his legacy continues to live even after his departure.
The author Laraib Nisar is a Defense and Strategic Studies’ graduate, working as a Research Associate at Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) Islamabad.
