Noted human rights activist and lawyer Asma Jahangir died of a cardiac arrest on Sunday. In Pakistan, Jahangir was often referred to as the voice of the voiceless and fought for the marginalised, like the Baloch and Pashtun people, those accused of blasphemy, victims of religious intolerance and so on. She founded the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan in 1987.

In 1983, she participated in the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy against military dictator Zia-ul-Haq’s regime. Prominent newspapers in Pakistan on Monday had front-page reports commemorating Jahangir’s contributions as a rights campaigner.

Dawn led with the headline “Valiant Rights Fighter Asma Passes Away”.

An editorial in the paper “Asma The Fearless” noted: “Losing an iconic champion of human rights, a lion of democracy and the rule of law would be difficult for any society. For Pakistan, the loss of Asma Jahangir has come at yet another brittle historical moment, with uncertainty plaguing the democratic project in the country.”

The Express Tribune led with the headline “Woman who stared down dictators is gone”. The report began thus: “Dictators couldn’t break her. Terrorists couldn’t scare her. In the end, it was her own heart that took her.”

The Nation noted in the headline, “Inimitable Asma Jahangir Passes Away”.

The edit piece “A woman who swam against the tide” noted: “She had a vast following at home and abroad for her progressive views and struggle against religious extremism. But she also faced strong criticism from religious groups for defending the cases of people accused of blasphemy and raising voice for the victims of honour killings.”

The International News led with the headline, “Voice for human rights, democracy and defiance is no more”. The report notes, “In the last post on her Twitter account, Jahangir cautioned the Supreme Court of Pakistan from selectively using the contempt of court law.”