Left unity in Pakistan-riddles and ambiguities

Three Left parties of Pakistan to merge,

 founding conference on 4th November

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/socialist_pakistan_news/message/25721

its a good move yet needs little care, consistency. from 2003, in our left liberal magazine awami jamhori forum www.ajfpk.org we r raising this issue. as par policy we published interviews and articles of left people who have even contradictory view points. we often faced criticism from comrades to accommodate different left point of views. yet we remained struck with the policy and the proof of this is our published material. in our more than 52 magazines we published interviews of more than two dozen left prominent leaders and intellectuals only. we also published many articles too. as u see at our website we always emphasized on need for a new democratic left party. regarding this email, i think issue was not state patronage as claimed in email " We do not expect to suddenly emerge as a ˜third™ force in Pakistani politics, because we do not enjoy the kind of patronage of state and non-state powers that right-wing parties." in India CPI after 1952 in general enjoyed state patronage yet it failed to become 3rd force. there r some basic issues which we must accept. in non-democratic structures we often abolish gray areas and so in the absence of dialogue factionalism prevails. this was one of the basic issues. if this effort give the space for new thinking it will be better.

 

Aamir Riaz
Editor awami jamhori forum ( people's democratic forum)
www.ajfpk.org
Commercial Email:  aamir@...
Blog http://punjabpunch.blogspot.com
GM ILQA Publications an imprint of Readings lhore
03018407020

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From: A. H. Nayyar <nayyar.ah@...>
To: socialist_pakistan_news@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, 19 September 2012, 8:52
Subject: Re: (SPN) Three Left parties of Pakistan to merg, founding conference on 4th November

 

This would be a great step forward. People may have started working on political documents, policies, manifestos, etc. If such a policy document is being made in the area of education and science and technology, I would like to offer my services to be a part of it.  

Nayyar

On 19 September 2012 08:01, Labour Party Pakistan <labour_party@...> wrote:
  [Attachment(s) from Labour Party Pakistan included below]

 Dear Friends and Comrades,

 

Over the past few months, three Left political parties have been holding meetings to discuss the possibility of a merger and creation of a new progressive force in Pakistani politics. Many of us have been striving for left unity for years, even decades.

 

The challenges that working people and progressive political forces face both within this country and in the form of imperialist intrigue cannot be meaningfully confronted without such unity. In the past, efforts to bring the left together have both succeeded and failed, and it is in the spirit of learning from such experiences that this present attempt is being made.

 

We do not expect to suddenly emerge as a ‘third’ force in Pakistani politics, because we do not enjoy the kind of patronage of state and non-state powers that right-wing parties. Yet we do believe that the people of Pakistan want to see new alternatives emerging and we expect that a merger of existing left groups will be a giant step forward in building such an alternative.

 

It is true that a majority of the Pakistani population is young, and many of these youth are fed up with the existing political options at their disposal. We believe that a left political party can be the face of this young and struggling population, not on the basis of hollow slogans, but in the form of a workable anti-imperialist, secular, anti-feudal and democratic Socialist programme.

 

We want to harness the countervailing power of the people of Pakistan to take on and displace all status quo forces.

 

Baluchistan is burning, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa continues to be caught in the throes of a war between two fundamentalisms (imperialist and religious), and our biggest city Karachi is engulfed in a mini-civil war….the list could go on.

 

None of our existing political parties acknowledges or tries to address these divisions. We believe that only a mass left party can bring Pakistan’s divided nations together by bringing to the fore the shared interests of working people of all of these nations, and by accepting the rights of nations of self determination including the right of cession. We will struggle to affirm Pakistan’s multinational character, and will try and revive the historic alliances of the left and progressive ethno-nationalists. This is the most urgent task facing all progressives and we believe our new party will be at the forefront of this struggle.

 

While the merger process to date has included only our three parties, we are circulating this message to clarify that we want all those who share our goals to join us. We believe that the building of a democratic socialist Pakistan is possible only if the means we employ are inclusive from the outset. We invite you all to be part of his historic effort.

 

It is been agreed that a federal conference consisting of delegates from all three parties  will take place on 4^th November  2012 in Lahore. An interim body will be elected for the next six months. A congress of the new party will take place in the middle of next year to elect all the bodies and to set the political and organizational priorities.

 

We would also be happy to invite those who are not part of the party to take part in the first federal conference as observer and decide for themselves, if they want to be part of the new party.

 

In solidarity,

1-       Awami Party Pakistan 

2-       Labour Party Pakistan

3-       Workers Party Pakistan 

Please contact for more information and solidarity

Awami Party:(Jamil Umer)             alberuni123@...

Labour Party:(Farooq Tariq)           labour_party@...

Workers Party:(Assim Sajad Akhtar)     amajid@...

 

 

 

Labour Party Pakistan

1/7 Street 7, Mohammed Nagar, Allama Iqbal Road, Lahore, Pakistan

tel: 00 92 42 36315162
www.laborpakistan.org