Pakistan: Protests against Israeli Aggression on Gaza! Solidarity with the Palestinians

The Pakistan Trade Union Defence Campaign (PTUDC) and Progressive Youth Alliance (PYA) organised protest demonstrations across Pakistan to condemn the Israeli aggression in Gaza. Below are reports from the demonstrations in different cities.

Quetta

The PTUDC organised a protest at the Press Club on 21st July against the Israeli aggression on unarmed Palestinians. Workers from Merck factory, PTUDC members and students participated in the protest. The protesters raised slogans against the reactionary rulers in the Middle East and for a Socialist Federation of the Middle East.

Comrade Nehal Khan said that the Israeli Ruling class was afraid of a revolutionary movement of the working class. The real motive behind the bombardment of Gaza is to divide the working class along national and religious lines. So far Israel has dropped a ton of bombs on Gaza, killing hundreds of innocent women, children and elderly. The anti-Israel stance of Hamas and Islamic Jihad is superficial. These fundamentalist organisations were created in the past with the backing of both US imperialism and Israel as a counterweight to the PLO and any left-wing working class and youth movements. Arab monarchs, who have also used the Palestinians as pawns, are equally responsible for this genocide. In reality this is not a religious war, but a class war. The only way forward for the emancipation of the Palestinian and Israeli working class is the establishment of a Socialist Federation of the Middle East.

Lahore

A protest was organised on 20th July in front of the Lahore Press club by the PTUDC and Unemployed Youth Movement (BNT). Addressing the protest, the speakers said that the ongoing Zionist aggression is killing innocent women and children in Gaza, which is the largest open-air prison in the world, where Israeli check posts are everywhere and poverty, hunger and employment are a norm. The people of Gaza are in constant fear of an Israeli Air strike and thousands are imprisoned in Israeli jails. The US and other imperialist powers use the Palestinian people for their own agendas. The ruling class of Palestine has also turned its back to its people and is working for the interests of imperialist forces. The only way forward for Palestine is the unity of working classes of Palestine and Israel against their rulers in a class war, through a socialist revolution. Leading comrades of the PTUDC – Adam Pal, Rashid Khalid and Dr. Aftab Ashraf, leaders of Young Doctors Punjab Dr. Farhan Gohar, Dr. Faizan Akram, Dr. Valeed Khan and Dr. Ijaz Ayub and BNT organizer Imran Kamyana and Atif Ali – were present at the protest along with other workers and youth.

Multan

A protest was organized by the PTUDC at Chowk Nawa Shahar. Protestors were carrying placards denouncing the Israeli aggression against the innocent and unarmed people of Gaza. Nadeem Pasha, Tariq Chaudhary, Anam Rab, Aslam Ansari, Hassan Raza, Asif Lashari, Jam Sajjad, Asim Khan, Comrade Majid, Comrade Rawal, Iqbal Hussain, Comrade Muhammad, Munnaza, Mahbloos, Fatima, Ahmad Hassan, Imtiaz, Muhammad Hussain, Malik Arshad Akbar and Amin Mina were present at the protest. They said that the imperialist policies have led to brutal conditions for Palestinians for past six decades. Within the confines of capitalism there can never be freedom for Palestine. The only solution is to overthrow the reactionary rulers of the Middle East along with their capitalist system.

Rahim Yar Khan

The PTUDC and District Workers Action Committee organized a protest rally from District Press Club to City bridge, where a mass meeting was held. Numerous workers’ organizations and political parties were represented by their members and leaders. Senior Vice Chairman PTUDC Qamar Uz Zaman, Vice President of International Food Federation Syed Zaman, PTUDC leader Haider Chughtai, Mazhar Saeed Gopang, Dr. Alsam Naro from PPP (Shaheed Bhutto), Malik Akbar, Pirji Ashraf, Naeem Mahandra of District Workers’ Action Committee, Malik Naeem, Raees Kajjal, Shahid Ullah, Afzal Kashi and Ali Gill were present at the gathering.

The speakers said that the only way to stop Israel was a Socialist Federation of the Middle East. The divisions in the Middle East can only be overcome on a class basis. Islamic fundamentalism and Zionist barbarism are two sides of the same coin.

The speakers condemned the criminal silence of Arab monarchs and international organizations. The use of chemical weapons against civilians by Israel has exposed the hypocrisy and double standards of the European and American ruling classes. The working class must organize internationally.

Sukkur

A rally was organized by the Progressive Youth Alliance on 15 July to protest against the Israeli Aggression on Palestinians. The rally was attended by the students of Mehran University Khairpur Campus and youth from the Sindh Progressive Forum. The rally moved through the city and reached the Press Club. The speakers included Comrade Saeed, Comrade Zulfiqar Shar of PYA, Comrade Yamin Mirani, Comrade Zia Bhatti and Chacha Nabban.

Dadu

On 18th May, the PTUDC and BNT organized a protest against Israeli aggression. The rally was led by comrade Ijaz Bhagiyo from BNT office to the Press Club. The mass meeting at the Press Club was addressed by comrade Khalid Jamali (President BNT Dadu) and Comrade Ijaz Bhagiyo (President BNT Sindh).

Muzaffarabad (Kashmir)

A protest was organized on 19th July by the PTUDC and JKNSF at Muzaffarabad Press Club against the military aggression of the Zionist State. District President JKNSF Khawaja Jamil, Imran Shafi, Tahir Ishaq, and PTUDC leaders addressed the protest. The speakers said that the only way out for the Palestinian and Israeli masses is a socialist revolution through a class war.

Rawalakot (Kashmir)

Jammu Kashmir National Student Federation (JKNSF) District Poonch organised a protest in Rawalakot. The protestors said that workers and youth of Kashmir and the world are protesting against the aggression of the Israeli state against Palestinian workers and youth. The ruling classes of the world are callously supporting the Zionist state, but a resistance of international working class and youth is also building up.

The real freedom for the Palestinians can only be achieved by uprooting the Zionist state of Israel and replacing it with a socialist federation. The participation of the Israeli working class in the movements of Arab workers in 2011 shows that there are two opposite and contradictory forces in Israel. The unity of the working class and youth will soon abolish the Zionist state and move towards a Socialist Federation of the Middle East. General Secretary JKNSF Khalil Babar, District Chairman Abrar Latif, Chief Organizer Comrade Rizwan, district General Secretary Taimoor Aslam, Organizer Kashif Rashid, Altamash Tassaduq and others participated in the protest.