Iqbal Haider resigns from HRCP

KARACHI: Former senator Iqbal Haider has resigned as co-chairman of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP).

On Thursday, he confirmed to The Express Tribune that he had resigned. He said that he had left his key post two days ago, on Tuesday. He declined to specify the reasons behind his decision and only said that the HRCP was a tree whose seed he himself had sowed. He wished the organisation well and hoped that it would continue to prosper in his absence.

Haider, a lawyer by profession, was one of the founders of the HRCP. He was elected a senator in 1991. The HRCP was formed in 1987 to struggle for human rights and democratic development in Pakistan.

It is an independent, voluntary, non-political, non-profit making, non-governmental organisation, registered under the Societies Registration Act (XXI of 1860), with its Secretariat office in Lahore.

On June 14 this year, noted academician Dr Mehdi Hasan was elected the HRCP’s chairperson following renowned lawyer Asma Jahangir’s resignation. The HRCP’s secretary general is IA Rehman.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 16^th, 2010.