Feb 9, 2026
Press Release
LAHORE
The sixth edition of the two-day Asma Jahangir Conference (AJCONF) commenced on February 7, 2026, at Faletti’s Hotel, Lahore.
AJCONF is an annual human rights conference organised by the Asma Jahangir Legal Aid Cell (AGHS) in memory of Asma Jahangir, Pakistan’s foremost human rights lawyer and activist. The conference brings together human rights defenders, lawyers, judges, journalists, and political activists to deliberate on issues including constitutionalism, civil liberties, enforced disappearances, minority and women’s rights, shrinking civic space, and authoritarianism.
This year’s conference was held in collaboration with the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan and the Pakistan Bar Council, under the title “Erosion of Fundamental Rights and Resistance Across Borders.”
The inaugural session was attended by prominent legal and political figures, including Federal Minister for Law & Justice and Federal Minister for Human Rights Azam Nazeer Tarar, Vice Chairman Pakistan Bar Council Pir Masood Chishti, former Supreme Court Bar Association presidents Ahsan Bhoon and Yasin Azad, former Vice Chairman Pakistan Bar Council Akhtar Hussain, and former Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan Raza Rabbani.
The session was opened by Sulema Jahangir, the daughter of Asma Jahangir, and Partner at Dawson Cornwell, United Kingdom & Board Member of AGHS Legal Aid Cell.
She said that despite many setbacks, those lawyers struggling for human rights hoped to see a bench that is equivocal in upholding the rule of justice without fear or favour.
“We hope to see a bench that is not afraid to hold state, and non-state actors accountable for excesses,” she said. “We hope cases of missing persons will be dealt with expeditiously, and political opponents will be provided due process. Without the judiciary playing it’s due role, the cyclical crisis of constitutionalism, that we have seen in Pakistan in the last many decades, will never end. Despite all the setbacks, we the lawyers community in Pakistan still have hopes from our institutions and our judiciary.”
She remarked that her mother had dedicated her whole life to fight for the rule of law.
“She would have been the first to call out those who use punitive laws like PECA to imprison elected politicians, journalists, and lawyers. She would have condemned military trials of civilians. Justice is not just interpreting what is written in our statute books but putting compassion and fairness, back in the service of humanity.”
In his keynote address, Federal Minister for Human Rights Azam Nazeer Tarar informed the conference that the government is working on draft legislation to provide a right of judicial review to civilians tried by military courts.
Addressing the issue of child marriages, the minister said that the marriageable age for girls would be raised to 18 years in Punjab.
Mr Tarar also announced that the government is forming a new high-level committee to investigate cases of missing persons with greater scrutiny, reiterating its commitment to achieving a target of zero missing persons. He said that while the reported number of enforced disappearances had declined from nearly 10,000 to around 2,600, the figure remained unacceptable from a human rights perspective.
He also informed the gathering that procedures were being deliberated to prevent the misuse of blasphemy laws.
Referring to recent legislation, Mr Tarar strongly defended the 26th and 27th Constitutional Amendments, arguing that Parliament—not the courts—is the primary law-making authority and that the reforms were necessary to curb judicial overreach.
Former Chairman of the Senate Raza Rabbani, in his address, said that the bar was unfortunately being used by political parties, which he said was not the case in the past. He added that there was no need for further constitutional amendments and warned that any proposed 28th Amendment would alter the fundamental framework of the 1973 Constitution.
Former Vice Chairman Pakistan Bar Council Akhtar Hussain said that democracy does not merely mean holding elections, noting that elections had also taken place under martial laws. He said true democracy requires a sovereign parliament, an independent judiciary, and a free press.
The inaugural session also featured international perspectives, with United Nations representatives highlighting concerns over shrinking civic space, the use of Anti-Terrorism and PECA laws, and the broader human rights implications of recent legal and political developments in Pakistan and the region.
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, Gina Romero, expressed concern over the arrests of Mahrang Baloch, Imaan Mazari, Hadi Ali Chatha, and Idrees Khattak. She said that military courts and anti-terrorism courts were being used to try civil activists, describing it as a worrying trend. She further noted that recent amendments to the Anti-Terrorism Act and similar legislation in Balochistan and Punjab risk violating human rights, including protections against arbitrary detention and cruel and inhuman treatment.
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan commended Pakistan for hosting Afghan refugees for over four decades but said the country had failed to manage their repatriation with dignity.