Pakistan

The plight of the people of war torn Swat/Malakand is a terrible one. They are the innocent victims of the conflict inside the Pakistani state and very little is being done by the authorities to help them. Many families are living out in the open. The PTUDC has organised volunteers and set up camps for those fleeing from the war zone. They need financial aid and we appeal to you to help.

The plight of people in the Swat/Malakand region of Pakistan has recently hit the headlines, presented as another example of Taliban activity. In reality sections of the state has long sponsored these activities. Now those who are suffering are the ordinary workers and peasants. The Marxists have set up camps to help in the relief operations, but what is ultimately required is the overthrow of the rotten regime itself.

In 42 towns and cities across Pakistan the PTUDC organised a series of rallies, marches and meetings to celebrate May Day. Here we provide a general report and plenty of pictures that provide flavour of the events that took place.

The media make out that the Taliban have genuine mass support in Pakistan, but in this article we see how they are actually promoted by forces within the state that see them as a useful instrument in terrorising the local people and as a means of maintaining their own corrupt rule. And we shouldn’t forget the role of US imperialism in promoting them in the first place!

At half past eight this morning (March 30) terrorists used machine guns and grenades to launch a savage attack on a police training academy in Manawan, on the outskirts of Lahore. Our correspondent explains the real material interests that lie behind these attacks, interests that are expressed in divisions within the state at all levels.

The PPP government in Pakistan has just announced a programme of sweeping privatisation, involving 22 publicly owned companies and services, together with other anti-working class policies. The PTUDC met in Multan, raising the need to unite the workers against these attacks.

This article by the Action Committee of the Dismissed Workers at Unilever in Pakistan, written by its President Muhammad Azeem and Secretary General Jehanzaib Khan), gives an account of the ongoing protests to get the sacked workers reinstated.

We reported the other day about the dramatic events at the Badin Army Sugar Mills. Workers protesting for their rights were fired at, many being injured and having to receive hospital treatment. They need the solidarity of workers around the world. Please send emails now.

Workers struggling for the right to have a union at the Army Welfare Sugar Mills in Badin in Pakistan, after getting a court decision that reinstated their union, were met by armed goons hired by the bosses, some of them receiving serious injuries and being hospitalised.

The myth encouraged by the mainstream media is that the Islamic fundamentalist forces operating on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan are enemies of "western culture". This interesting article from Pakistan highlights the fact that these forces are not in contradiction with capitalism, but are seen as a useful tool in combating any genuine struggle of the oppressed and downtrodden masses.

The Unemployed Youth Movement (BNT) of Sindh, in Pakistan, recently held a meeting to elect and present its Executive leading body, highlighting the plight of unemployed youth in the country.

The PTUDC in Karachi met recently, electing an executive body with representatives in key industries and workplaces, and also passed a resolution. We also provide photos of the event

Under the title "Left awaits return of the 1968-69 ‘revolution'" the Dawn newspaper in Pakistan published this review. Although it questions the optimism of both Lal Khan and Alan Woods and their confidence that a new 1968-69 is being prepared in Pakistan, the author does give an honest appraisal of the content of the book.