Asia

On Sunday, June 30, the PTUDC Karachi arranged a public meeting at the PMA house in the centre of Karachi, the industrial hub of Pakistan. More than 70 trade unionists from all the major industries attended the meeting, to celebrate the release of the striking civil secretariat workers in Quetta. Strike leader Hameed Khan who had travelled from Quetta to Karachi for the meeting received a standing ovation and thanked everyone who supported the PTUDC campaign, in Pakistan and internationally.

They were released in the late hours of Friday, June 21 after two months of imprisonment in Quetta's central jail. All the workers have been released unconditionally and the cases against them have been withdrawn. This shows that even in most difficult of objective conditions battles of the class struggle can be fought and won.

They were released in the late hours of Friday, June 21 after two months of imprisonment in Quetta's central jail. All the workers have been released unconditionally and the cases against them have been withdrawn. This shows that even in most difficult of objective conditions battles of the class struggle can be fought and won.

The strike movement in Quetta has taken a dramatic new turn in the last couple of days. A general strike on Wednesday brought the whole city of Quetta to a standstill. This struggle has now entered a delicate and decisive phase.

The strike movement in Quetta has taken a dramatic new turn in the last couple of days. A general strike on Wednesday brought the whole city of Quetta to a standstill. This struggle has now entered a delicate and decisive phase.

Alan Woods takes a look at the unsuccessful military exploits of the British expeditionary force that Tony Blair so enthusiastically sent to Afghanistan, hoping to take on Osama bin Laden and the Taliban.

Lal Khan looks at the developing threat of war between India and Pakistan, and particularly at the question of Kashmir, which has caused three wars in the last 54 years since independence. He looks at the catastrophic effects of the nuclear bomb, and explains the necessity of a class struggle that cuts across national boundaries, to create a a socialist federation of the Indian subcontinent, as the only way of ending forever the threat of nuclear war.

Here is a short update on the situation in Quetta. The Civil Secretariat workers' protests are continuing, and there was also a demonstration of teachers today.

Lal Khan, editor of the Asian Marxist Review looks at the current situation in Pakistan. The economy is in ruins and Musharraf is under attack from all sides. The referendum he arranged to bolster support for himself has been a failure. The Americans are getting tired of him, and he has got nothing in return for his subservience. In desparation he is resorting to increased repression, as the attacks on the striking public sector workers in Quetta show.

Nazar Mengal, a leading PTUDC activist, is playing a key role in the present strike movement in Baluchistan. The authorities have moved him to a remote village and issued him with a show-cause notice. After the brutal repression of the civil secretariat strike the state does not want retaliation from elsewhere in Baluchistan, and they are targetting the PTUDC in particular.

Nazar Mengal, a leading PTUDC activist, is playing a key role in the present strike movement in Baluchistan. The authorities have moved him to a remote village and issued him with a show-cause notice. After the brutal repression of the civil secretariat strike the state does not want retaliation from elsewhere in Baluchistan, and they are targetting the PTUDC in particular.