Ibn Abdur Rehman, also known as I.A. Rehman (1 September 1930 – 12 April 2021) was a Pakistani

peace Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

and human rights advocate, and a veteran communist. A protégé of the great

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Faiz Ahmed Faiz Faiz Ahmad ''Faiz'' (13 February 1911 – 20 November 1984; Urdu, Punjabi: فیض احمد فیض) was a Pakistani poet, and author of Urdu and Punjabi literature. Faiz was one of the most celebrated Pakistani Urdu writers of his time. Out ...

, he became chief editor of the ''

Pakistan Times ''Pakistan Times'' (1947–1996) was a Pakistani newspaper, originally established by the leftist Progressive Papers Limited based in Lahore, Pakistan. Historical background It was owned and operated by Mian Iftikharuddin, a Punjabi politic ...

'' newspaper in 1989. He was the founding chair of the ''Pakistan-India People's Forum for Peace and Democracy''. He was also a director of the

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan ( ur, ) (HRCP) is an independent, democratic non-profit organisation. Founded in 1987, it is one of the oldest human rights organisations in the country. HRCP is committed to monitoring, protecting a ...

(HRCP) since 1990, and a prominent human rights activist. Rehman was influential for promoting peace in the

Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts Since the Partition of British India in 1947 and subsequent creation of the dominions of India and Pakistan, the two countries have been involved in a number of wars, conflicts, and military standoffs. A long-running dispute over Kashmir and ...

and in

Kashmir conflict The Kashmir conflict is a territorial conflict over the Kashmir region, primarily between India and Pakistan, with China playing a third-party role. The conflict started after the partition of India in 1947 as both India and Pakistan claimed ...

as well as for other human rights issues in Pakistan. In November 2007, on a visit to India, he told ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'' "I've been working to defend people's human rights all my life. And, I will continue to do so."Profile of journalist I. A. Rehman on The Hindu (newspaper)
Published 16 November 2007, Retrieved 24 July 2017 In 2015, many human rights activists including I.A. Rehman urged the Pakistani government to 'criminalise child labour in hazardous environments'. According to ''

Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's hori ...

'', one activist doctor said, "I have seen cases where children have contracted tuberculosis because they worked in hazardous environments. Making children work such jobs should be criminalized." Rehman was born in

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land a ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. He grew up in both a "religious and secular" household, and his father and grandfather were landowners. He died in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

Awards and recognition

* Ramon Magsaysay Award for Peace and International Understanding in 2004 * Nuremberg International Human Rights Award in 2003I. A. Rehman gets Nuremberg International Human Rights Award in 2003
Dawn (newspaper), Published 7 October 2002, Retrieved 24 July 2017

References

External links

* 1930 births 2021 deaths Pakistani anti-war activists Pakistani communists Pakistani human rights activists Pakistani male journalists Pakistani pacifists Pakistani people of Haryanvi descent Ramon Magsaysay Award winners {{Pakistan-activist-stub