26.10.2005

Communist Party of Pakistan

There are four main leftist parties that have been involved in earthquake relief in Pakistan: 1. The Communist Party of Pakistan (CPP). After the partition of India it was realised by the Communist Party of India that there should be a separate Communist Party for the newly born Pakistan. Thus the CPP came into being at the 1948 congress of the CPI in Kolkata. In 1954 the CPP was banned, as the Pakistan government was allied with the US imperialists. It worked underground till 1986. Meanwhile it faced all kinds of repression: its two senior comrades were brutally killed in army custody, while many were tortured and kept in jail by the successive army regimes. The CPP believes in Marxism-Leninism and follows the Leninist concept of the cadre party organisation. It adheres to a four-point agenda: * Struggle against imperialism * Struggle against feudalism * Struggle against the rule of the military and bureaucracy * Struggle against fundamentalism Its present general secretary is comrade Imdad Qazi. 2. National Workers Party. This party was founded by the merger of the Socialist Party and some members of the CPP, who left the mother party after the debacle of the Soviet Union. This party has a loose organisation and is seeking a new interpretation of Marxism. They have a soft spot for the present army regime. Its president is Abid Hasan Minto. 3. Communist Mazdoor Kisan Party (workers' and peasants' party). This was formed against the background of the Sino-Soviet differences and the consequent international split in the communist movement. They claim to be Maoist and have a fraternal relationship with Indian and Nepali Maoists. There was a split in this party two years back and the splinter group calls itself the Mazdoor Kisan Party. 4.Trotskyites. Four groups are operating in Pakistan: (a) Class Struggle group, working within the Pakistan Peoples Party. (b) Labour Party (Farooq Tariq group). (c) Labour Party (Shoeb Bhatti group). [both Labour Parties are actually NGOs] (d) Intellectual groups, which do not involve themselves in any political activity. All of these groups and parties are involved in the relief activity following the recent earthquake disaster in one way or another. Manssor Saeed Foreign committee International Socialist (Pakistan affiliate of the International Socialist Tendency, the SWP's international grouping) We have not heard of Islamic Relief, but we would suggest that you keep your distance from them, for their operations appear from their website to be in places where jihadis dominate. If they are in Pakistan, we will certainly keep our distance. Sartaj Khan For a full list of working class organisations working in Pakistan, click here