Working under difficult circumstances, Jahangir received heavy criticism and even death threats, but the Pakistani authorities did not take any action against those responsible.

A symbol of equality for women in Pakistan, in 1981 she founded, together with her sister Hina Jilani and two other lawyers, the first all-female law firm (AGHS) in Pakistan.

In august 1998, Asma Jahangir was appointed Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions by the United Nations. In this role, she is mandated to investigate all actual or threatened killings orchestrated or tolerated by governments officials.

Since 1993 she has served as the Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan that has, among other things, been combating the serious problem of bonded Labor in Pakistan.