These twin cities are the capital of Pakistan. The PTUDC meeting was organized here on the 19th of October. Being a Friday (the holy day of Muslims) it was supposed to be a day of rallies of the Islamic fundamentalists. Yet no rally of the Islamic parties on that day was as large as the anti-war public meeting which took place under the banner of the PTUDC at the press club in Liaquat Gardens in the heart of Rawalpindi city. Three hundred and twenty-five people participated in this meeting. All the main trade unions were represented.
These twin cities are the capital of Pakistan. The PTUDC meeting was organized here on the 19th of October. Being a Friday (the holy day of Muslims) it was supposed to be a day of rallies of the Islamic fundamentalists. Yet no rally of the Islamic parties on that day was as large as the anti-war public meeting which took place under the banner of the PTUDC at the press club in Liaquat Gardens in the heart of Rawalpindi city. Three hundred and twenty-five people participated in this meeting. All the main trade unions were represented.
The trade union leaders supported the PTUDC position on the war are and all of them congratulated the PTUDC for launching this campaign which puts the workers' point of view on this crucial issue. Among the 13 speakers including prominent journalists, trade unionists and left leaders who spoke, was also the newly elected general secretary of the JKNSF [Jammu & Kashmir National Students Federation] comrade Adil who had come from Kashmir.
The main speaker was comrade Lal Khan, who had come from Lahore to address this meeting. He said that we condemn the acts of individual terrorism but we consider the US imperialist aggression as the worst form of terrorism. He said that 100,000 Afghan children would die due to starvation this winter. This will be due to the hindrance of food supplies to the Afghans because of the US bombings. He stressed the need for the workers to be prepared for the movements and upheavals that will erupt in society against capitalist exploitation and this rotten system that is the cause of all the wars and misery.
The Water and Power workers leader and Rawalpindi city organizer of the PTUDC, comrade Irshad, wound up the meeting. The meeting was conducted and chaired by the Islamabad telecommunications workers' leader and Islamabad PTUDC organizer, comrade. Azad Qadri. Banners were displayed inside and outside the hall and the PTUDC anti-war poster was pasted on all the significant public places of the city. The comrades fly-posted in conditions of danger as the police and army is patrolling the streets and is on high alert in the capital of Pakistan.
In the meeting there was a stall of the PTUDC and the 'Struggle' publications from where a large number of publications and educational material was purchased by the workers. The meeting ended in a mood of optimism and enthusiasm to take the struggle for socialism forward.
Report by Mona Gill,
Rawalpindi.
October 21, 2001
See also: S11 attacks and consequences - Special coverage
Note: The Pakistan Trade Union Defence Campaign (PTUDC) have launched their own web site, www.ptudc.org. The PTUDC has been campaigning for the defence of trade union rights in Pakistan for a number of years. Now the situation has become even more complicated with the war against Afghanistan. The PTUDC has condemned terrorism, but is also actively campaigning against the war inside Pakistan itself. Thus they face the wrath of both the state authorities and the Islamic fundamentalists. They need your help in their campaigning work. You can help by publicising their material and by going to http://www.marxist.com/wellred/ptudc.asp to make a financial contribution to their campaigning work.