Mohammad Jibran Nasir (; born 10 February 1987) is a Pakistani lawyer, civil rights activist, and a political figure. He is known for his work in advocating for social issues, especially his commitment to advancing human rights. His notable contributions to civil society encompass the establishment of the

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

"Never Forget Pakistan".

Early life and education

Nasir was born on 10 February 1987 in Karachi, Pakistan. He completed his O-Levels from Saint Michael's Convent School in Karachi, A-Levels from The Lyceum School in Karachi, and went to the University of London International Programme for Bachelor of Law (LLB Hons.). Later, he completed LLM in International Commercial Law from the University of Northumbria, UK.

Activism

He is a lawyer by profession and is known for criticizing state policies regarding banned organisations in Pakistan and call attention to the need for protection of minorities. Nasir has been a trustee at Elaj Trust and involved in relief work through Elaj Trust. He founded the NGO, Never Forget Pakistan and is also involved in advocacy for marginalised communities through Pakistan For All. Nasir became prominent following the December 2014's Peshawar's school attack which led to 150 dead after he led the procession calling for the arrest of Lal Masjid cleric Abdul Aziz, for which he subsequently received alleged threats from Taliban spokesman. He was noted by ''Foreign Policy'' Magazine amongst the three Pakistanis making considerable effort against sectarian violence. In January 2015, Nasir played a key role in organising a new movement to "Reclaim Pakistan" from

violent extremism Violent extremism is a form of extremism that condones and enacts violence with Ideology, ideological or deliberate intent, such as Religious violence, religious or political violence. Violent extremist views often conflate with Religious violen ...

and played a major role in organising demonstrations carrying playcards and candles. Nasir had been leading protests against

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

in Pakistan, and was arrested on 5 February 2015 for protesting near the Chief Minister's residence along with other Civil Society activists. Later on the same day, Nasir was released by the Karachi Police. Following his release he addressed protesters gathered and reiterated his 15-day ultimatum to government for taking action against banned organizations. In 2017, Nasir filed a complaint with

Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) ( ) is an independent and constitutionally established federal institution responsible for regulating and issuing channel licenses for establishment of the mass media culture, print and el ...

(PEMRA) alleging

Aamir Liaquat Hussain Aamir Liaquat Hussain (; 5 July 1971 – 9 June 2022) was a Pakistani politician, columnist and television host. Hussain was a top ranking TV anchor and was listed three times in The 500 influential Muslims worldwide, and was among 100 popul ...

in his TV show of running a defamatory and life-threatening campaign against him. Following which PEMRA banned TV show of Aamir Liaquat. Rawalpindi police also registered a case against Aamir Liaquat for threatening the life of Nasir.

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

in a letter to

Interior Minister of Pakistan Interior may refer to: Arts and media * ''Interior'' (Degas) (also known as ''The Rape''), painting by Edgar Degas * ''Interior'' (play), 1895 play by Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck * ''The Interior'' (novel), by Lisa See * Interior de ...

called on the government to take action to protect the lives and rights of activists including of Nasir due to harassment and threats by Aamir Liaquat.

Political career

Nasir ran for seat of the

National Assembly of Pakistan The National Assembly of Pakistan, also referred to as ''Aiwān-ē-Zairīñ'', is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, with the upper house being the Senate of Pakistan, Senate. As of 2023, the National Assem ...

and

Provincial Assembly of Sindh The Provincial Assembly of Sindh is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani province of Sindh, and is located in Karachi, its provincial capital. It was established under Article 106 of the Constitution of Pakis ...

as an independent candidate from Constituency NA-250 (Karachi-XII) and Constituency PS-113 (Karachi-XXV) respectively in

2013 Pakistani general election General elections were held in Pakistan on Saturday 11 May 2013 to elect the members of the List of members of the 14th National Assembly of Pakistan, 14th National Assembly of Pakistan, National Assembly and the four Subdivisions of Pakistan, Pr ...

, but was unsuccessful after securing a meager 259 votes for the NA seat. He lost the National Assembly seat to

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is a political party in Pakistan established in 1996 by cricketer and politician Imran Khan, who served as the country's prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The party is led by Gohar Ali Khan since late 2023. ...

's candidate

Arif Alvi Arif-ur-Rehman Alvi () is a Pakistani politician who served as the 13th President of Pakistan, in office from 2018 to 2024. He was a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from June 2013 to May 2018 and again from August to September 2018. ...

and Sindh Assembly seat to

Samar Ali Khan Samar Ali Khan (born 11 July 1955) is a Pakistani politician who was a Member of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh from May 2013 to May 2018. He is married to Atiqa Odho. Early life and education He was born on 11 July 1955 in Murree. He has ...

. NA-250 was described as one of the most hotly contested seats for the National Assembly. After the 2018 delimitation, the NA-250 constituency was renamed NA-247. In June 2018, he announced to contest in

2018 Pakistani general election General elections were held in Pakistan on 25 July 2018 to elect the members of the 15th National Assembly and the four Provincial Assemblies. The three major parties were Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), led by Imran Khan, the Pakistan Muslim ...

as an independent candidate, for the seat of the National Assembly from Constituency NA-247 and for the seat of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh from Constituency PS-111. His election campaign was titled "Hum Mein Se Aik". Despite numerous publicity campaigns, he lost elections for both the national and provincial assembly seats by substantial margins. He ran for the seat of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh from Constituency PS-111 as an independent candidate in by-election held on 21 October 2018, but was unsuccessful.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nasir, Mohammad Jibran Living people Pakistani lawyers Pakistani civil rights activists Politicians from Karachi 1987 births Alumni of the University of London Alumni of Northumbria University Muhajir people 21st-century Pakistani politicians