17.10.2001

Appeal from Labour Party Pakistan

Dear friends

This is a formal appeal from the Labour Party Pakistan to help the party in this crucial juncture of Pakistan history. The LPP national executive committee in its three-day meeting at Lahore from October 4-6 decided to launch a peace movement in Pakistan. The main slogans will be ?No to war?, ?No to imperialist aggression?, ?No to the terror of religious fanatics? and ?For a peaceful, democratic Pakistan?.

The LPP is organising peace rallies in a very hostile atmosphere, where religious fundamentalists are taking to the streets every day. They want to go for a jihad against the Americans, who were once their best friends politically and economically. Religious fundamentalists are the new kind of fascists and must be opposed in every aspect. The LPP believe in no compromise or alliance with these religious fanatics on any issue. It boycotted the all-party conference called by the religious fundamentalist Jamaat-I-Islami on September 21 on the question of the restoration of the constitution. The LPP and PPP were the only parties which announced a boycott despite being formally invited. This was in line with the policies of the LPP. Unfortunately, the PPP is siding with US imperialism at this time.

The LPP has a very proud record of fighting in practice for its agreed principles of peace, democracy and socialism. It prints every week Workers Struggle, the only weekly that brings up the issues that the capitalist media try to distort or ignore. Over 100 LPP activists have gone to jail during the last two years for fighting for the restoration of democracy and for workers? rights. All the main leaders of the LPP have been in jail during this time.

Now once again, the LPP has taken up the challenge of fighting imperialist war and religious terrorism. We need your support.

Please make a donation to the LPP using the following account: Education Foundation Donations, foreign currency account (US dollars) number 1161774808090, Standard Grindlays Bank, Main Boulevard, Gulberg, Lahore, Pakistan.

Farooq Tariq
General secretary, Labour Party Pakistan