ISLAMABAD: The Worker’s Party Pakistan (WPP) has said that the
replacement of obsolete political, ideological and economic structures
is the only hope for Pakistan to become a viable and strong state and
for its myriad ethnic, class and other social conflicts to be resolved.
It further stated that the people of Pakistan must come together to
build this revised social contract, assert their rights as citizens of
the 21st century world, and thereby spearhead the process of long-term
democratization of state and society.
Speaking a news
conference held at the National Press Club, WPP president Abid Hasan
Minto, General Secretary Akhtar Hussain, and senior vice-presidents
Yusuf Masti Khan and Sufi Abdul Khaliq Baloch said that Pakistan is
being torn apart at the seams by a combination of imperialist war,
religious militancy, ethno-national strife and ruthless capitalist
accumulation. They said that the biggest city Karachi is a microcosm of
the predicament facing the entire country where land, drugs and gun
mafias are running riot under the cover of mainstream political
parties. These vested political formations are producing ethnic
tensions that threaten to undo the very social fabric of the city and
there is no state institution – including the army – that can be relied
upon to resolve this situation. Neither can it be expected that the
Supreme Court is responsible for or capable of establishing peace in
the city. Meanwhile the ambassadors of the US and UK are engaging in
undue interventions in the political affairs of the city. The WPP
leaders said that only the people of Karachi can transcend ethnic
identities to restore peace and sanity to the city.
The WPP
leaders were of the opinion that similar in vein Balochistan continues
to be radicalized along ethnic lines, due largely to the ongoing
military operation, kidnappings and target killings of political
activists and students. They said that even though the reactionary
killings of non-Baloch settlers by segments of the Baloch nationalists
cannot be tolerated, the primary fault for the situation lies with the
establishment which continues to deny the Baloch their legitimate
rights. In this case too, the WPP leaders have asserted, the Baloch
people must come together with other Balochistanis to rebuild a
peaceful and harmonious society.
The WPP leaders have said that
the ethno-national conflicts and the wider problem of class
exploitation now require a fresh demarcation of provincial boundaries.
They said that the existing provinces are essentially creations of the
British Raj and it is time to reconstitute the social contract in
accordance with the democratic aspirations of the people, cultural and
linguistic divisions, and economic imperatives. In this regard, the WPP
leaders welcomed the prospective creation of a Siraiki province and
said that a constitutional committee should be immediately established
to work out the specific details of how such a province will be
created. Subsequent demands should be dealt with on a case-by-case
basis.
The WPP leaders also called attention to the desperate
plight of flood victims in Sindh and said that such devastation for two
summers in succession speaks to a failure of the state to protect
people’s lives and possessions from the elements. However the WPP
leaders also pointed out that there is now clear evidence that the
flooding in Badin is largely attributable to the failed mega water
projects championed by the international financial institutions (IFIs),
particularly the Left Bank Outfall Drain. Thus there is a need to
revisit the development paradigm of the IFIs. Indeed the entire water
infrastructure needs to be reappraised and the ‘knowledge’ of the
irrigation bureaucracy overhauled. Online
