Prominent rights activist remembered

Idrees Kamal died of brain haemorrhage in Quetta on June 10.

ISLAMABAD:

With the demise of Muhammad Idrees Kamal, Pakistan has lost one of its most well-informed human rights activists who had devoted his life toward the struggle for a pro-poor and democratic society.

These were the words of rights activists, friends and family who paid rich tributes to Kamal at a condolence reference organised by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) and Insani Huqooq Ittehad (IHI) on Wednesday.

Kamal died of brain haemorrhage on June 10 in Quetta. He was a vocal advocate of human rights in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata). He was also the information secretary of National Party (NP) and a founding member of the Amn Tehreek, a movement against militancy and terrorism in K-P.

NP senior vice-president Senator Mir Hasil Bizenjo referred to Kamal as a “symbol of peace.” Bizenjo said Kamal’s life was marked with a continuous struggle for human rights.

Human rights activist Tahira Abdullah said Kamal was the “most informed human rights activist” who always raised his voice against human rights violations.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 20^th, 2013.