Pakistan

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 All the workers have been released unconditionally and the cases against them have been withdrawn.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.

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.

Today a protest demonstration was held in the city of Kasur in the East of Pakistan, to protest against the continuing imprisonment of the Quetta strike leaders, and the government's sacking of 1,125 public sector workers who are on strike. To read more about the ongoing campaign and how you can help, please see the website of the Pakistan Trade Union Defence Campaign.

Hameed Khan, the leader of the Quetta civil secretariat strike, and the other arrested workers are still in jail. In Pakistan the PTUDC has stepped up its nationwide activity. However, international pressure has proved in the past to be decisive in getting the release of jailed trade unionists. Here we present three letters, written by Mikhail Doronenko from the Russian section of the PTUDC, and sent to Pakistani President Musharraf, the federal interior minister, and the governor of Buluchistan. We believe these to be model letters, and we encourage all our readers to follow this example.

Hameed Khan, the leader of the Quetta civil secretariat strike, and the other arrested workers are still in jail. In Pakistan the PTUDC has stepped up its nationwide activity. However, international pressure has proved in the past to be decisive in getting the release of jailed trade unionists. Here we present three letters, written by Mikhail Doronenko from the Russian section of the PTUDC, and sent to Pakistani President Musharraf, the federal interior minister, and the governor of Buluchistan. We believe these to be model letters, and we encourage all our readers to follow this example.

On Sunday, the PTUDC Lahore held a protest demonstration after the government announced the sacking of 1,125 striking government workers in Quetta. The PTUDC demands the immediate release of all those jailed, the reinstatement of all workers fired, and for the workers' demands to be met. A message from jailed strike leader Hameed Khan was read out at the event in front of the Lahore Press Club. The PTUDC has stepped up its nationwide campaign.
See also the Press Coverage of the event.