Asia

Events in Pakistan are moving fast. Yesterday, General Musharraf quit as army chief, and was hastily sworn in as president on the same day. The general hopes that in this way he will win respectability in the run-up to the election promised for January 8. This sets the stage for a big shift in Pakistan.

The BNT recently held an important meeting of student federations from across Pakistan. The meeting brought together several progressive student federations from across Pakistan into one platform to struggle for student rights and the state of emergency declared by the Musharraf.

Comrade Manzoor Ahmed, the Marxist MP in Pakistan, was released from the Central Jail of Gujranwala this morning. He is now leading a jubilant caravan of supporters back to his hometown of Kasur.

Musharraf's hold on power hangs by a thread. With pressure on all sides he has very few options and the crisis continues to mount. The pressure on the masses continues to grow, and they can stand no more. The only way out of the situation, the only forward, is socialist revolution.

Immediately upon being informed of Manzoor’s arrest we rang the comrades in Lahore. Whether through the inefficiency of the police, or because they were overwhelmed by the large number of arrests, they forgot to confiscate Manzoor’s mobile phone. Comrade Alan Woods was therefore able to speak to him in his cell, from which he delivered an inspiring message for the workers of the world, which we publish here.

Comrade Manzoor was arrested on a demonstration this morning, after leading many demonstrations throughout the Punjab. We have just received this message from Pakistan. Comrade Manzoor Ahmed, the Marxist MP is also president of the Pakistan Trade Union Defence Campaign.

We have just received this report of a rally in Kasur led by Manzoor Ahmed, the Marxist MP in Pakistan. The police baton-charged the rally and attempted to arrest Manzoor but the demonstrators protected him and helped him get away. But hundreds of PPP and PTUDC activists were arrested. We will keep our readers updated as we get the news.

The comrades in Pakistan have been massively distributing the following leaflet in Rwalpindi, where Bhutto's protest was to be held.

Comrades in Pakistan have been intervening in the student protests against Musharraf. This report provides details on some of the protests and arrests that have taken place.

We have just received the news that Chaudhary Munir Ahmed, a member of the Pakistan Trade Union Defence Campaign and younger brother of Manzoor Ahmed, Member of Parliament and President of the PTUDC, has been arrested together with some labour activists and leaders involved in the PTUDC together with other lawyers. We need to raise as wide a campaign as possible in their defence.

There is much talk in the media about the various factors that have led General Musharaff to impose an Emergency in Pakistan. One very important factor that they all seem to conveniently ignore is the rising mood of trade union and working class militancy. This is taking place as the Pakistani economy plunges into the deepest crisis in its history. The scene is being prepared for an almighty workers' backlash.

On Saturday November 3 President Pervez Musharraf declared virtual martial law, imposing a state of emergency throughout Pakistan, suspending the Constitution and replacing superior courts. This amounts to his second coup d’etat after he seized power in October 12, 1999. It is a desperate move that underlines the extremely unstable nature of the regime, which is losing support by the day.

Both permanent and temporary workers at Unilever in Pakistan have come under attack from the bosses, who would like to change their status to contract workers, thereby avoiding the payment of medical and other benefits. In defence of their jobs and livelihoods the workers have launched a struggle and called for union solidarity.