The masses of Pakistan are bracing themselves for yet another election under another military dictatorship. They do so amid fears of vote rigging, manipulation and fabrication of the results on the part of the regime which is attempting to get its civilian toadies into positions of power within the so-called new democratic set-up. Lal Khan, editor of the Asian Marxist Review looks at the perspectives for the coming period.
The ideas of genuine Marxism have been vindicated with the election of Manzoor Ahmed to the Pakistani Parliament in yesterday's elections. During this election campaign many thousands of workers came into contact with the ideas of Marxism for the first time. On one of Manzoor's election posters the main slogan was "Irreconcilable Struggle Until Socialist Revolution". So no one can have any doubt what the people of Kasur were voting for! When the result was announced in the early hours of the morning huge numbers of Manzoor's supporters came out spontaneously to celebrate his victory.