Ibn Abdur Rehman

Rehman was born on 1 September 1930 in Pataudi State, British India (present day Gurgaon district, Haryana, India). He grew up in both a "religious and secular" household, and his father and grandfather were landowners.{{cite news|url=https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/2018/08/07/if-the-state-starts-to-see-sense-then-people-will-follow-but-i-think-this-will-take-time-ibn-abdur-rehman/|title="If the state starts to see sense, then people will follow. But I think this will take time" – Ibn Abdur Rehman|work=London School of Economics|date=7 August 2018|access-date=17 September 2023|first=Amber|last=Darr|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180808090711/https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/2018/08/07/if-the-state-starts-to-see-sense-then-people-will-follow-but-i-think-this-will-take-time-ibn-abdur-rehman/|archive-date=8 August 2018|url-status=dead}}

When partition of India happened in 1947, he was still studying at Aligarh Muslim University. He reportedly lost many relatives in the riots that followed the partition in his region of birth. He survived because he was away from the region as a student. Then he moved to Pakistan and was able to finish his MSc. degree in Physics from the University of the Punjab in Lahore, Pakistan.

I. A. Rehman first started writing columns for newspapers in 1950. A protégé of the great Urdu poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz, he became chief editor of the Pakistan Times newspaper in 1989. He continued to write columns for Dawn newspaper until almost his death. He was the founding chair of the Pakistan-India People's Forum for Peace and Democracy and a prominent human rights activist. Rehman was influential for promoting peace in the Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts and in Kashmir conflict as well as for other human rights issues in Pakistan.{{cite news|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1618863/ibn-abdur-rehman-1930-2021|title=Ibn Abdur Rehman (1930 - 2021) - Remembering Rehman Sahib |website=Dawn newspaper website|archive-date= 18 April 2021|access-date=17 September 2023|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418050907/https://www.dawn.com/news/1618863/ibn-abdur-rehman-1930-2021|author=Zohra Yusuf}}

Rehman was also very active in the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ). He was also a Director (1990-2008) and Secretary General from (2008-2016) at the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

A major newspaper of Pakistan is quoted as saying about I. A. Rehman:

"Had he chosen to concentrate on column-writing alone, he would have profited immensely because the big newspapers of India and Bangladeash were ready to publish him for any amount he desired, but instead he taught many generations of journalists about filing a report, doing research and journalistic ethics."

In November 2007, on a visit to India, he told The Hindu newspaper, "I've been working to defend people's human rights all my life. And, I will continue to do so."(Ananth Krishnan) [https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/I-will-continue-to-fight-Rehman/article14876206.ece Profile of journalist I. A. Rehman on The Hindu newspaper] Published 16 November 2007, Retrieved 17 September 2023

In 2015, many human rights activists including I.A. Rehman urged the Pakistani government to 'criminalise child labour in hazardous environments'. According to Dawn, 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."[https://www.dawn.com/news/1220991 Criminalise child labour in hazardous environments] Dawn newspaper, Published 20 November 2015, Retrieved 17 September 2023

He died on 12 September 2020 in Lahore, Pakistan at age 90.{{cite news|url=https://thefridaytimes.com/30-Apr-2021/farewell-i-a-rehman-pakistan-s-awakener-is-now-at-rest|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 February 2024|access-date=13 February 2024|newspaper=The Friday Times newspaper|date=30 April 2021|author=Raza Naeem|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240213192502/https://thefridaytimes.com/30-Apr-2021/farewell-i-a-rehman-pakistan-s-awakener-is-now-at-rest|title=Farewell I.A. Rehman: Pakistan's Awakener is now at Rest}}

On his death, a spokesperson for the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) reportedly called him a "titan of human rights....his integrity, conscience and compassion were unparalleled".

• Ramon Magsaysay Award for Peace and International Understanding in 2004
• Nuremberg International Human Rights Award in 2003[https://www.dawn.com/news/60668/newspaper/column I. A. Rehman gets Nuremberg International Human Rights Award in 2003] Dawn newspaper, Published 7 October 2002, Retrieved 13 February 2024

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Category:1930 births

Category:2021 deaths

Category:Pakistani anti-war activists

Category:Pakistani communists

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Category:Pakistani human rights activists

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Category:Pakistani people of Haryanvi descent

Category:Ramon Magsaysay Award winners

Category:University of the Punjab alumni

Category:Pakistani columnists

Category:Pakistani newspaper editors