growers were organizing demonstrations to demand an increase in guaranteed cotton prices. This increase was opposed by the powerful All Pakistan Textile Manufacturers LPP Conference Association APTMA. Cotton amounts for 70% of Pakistan's exports. The country produces 10% of the world's Punjab revolutionaries cotton. On 10th October, a nationwide protest of peasants and cotton growers blocked all the main roads of Pakistan for several hours.
All these developments exposed the extremely unpopular nature of the Nawaz Sharif government, and the dramatic decline in popular support for the Prime Minister. In early 1997, Nawaz won the general elections with 40% of the total vote, and 65% of seats in the national assembly. It used its •majority to remove constitutional guarantees of trade union rights, women's rights, and the protection minorities and small ethnic groups. The government tried to bring the bureaucracy under its absolute control, humiliating the civil service in public.
Nawaz Sharif wanted to rule like a Mughal emperor, with his words translated into actions within seconds. He introduced a telephone help line, where he would listen to any complaint and take immediate action. State television would follow the story, giving people the impression that justice has been done in seconds. But all without any proper investigation of the complaint...
The Nawaz Sharif government also had an obsession with highway construction. He wanted his roads to be built in days. Any obstacles had to be removed, without considering alternatives. Not surprisingly, many historical buildings were bulldozed, provoking widespread discontent among the urban population.
Despite his demagogy, Sharif was unable to implement the IMF agenda for quick privatization of the main public sector institutions like railway, telecommunication, and electricity.
He clashed with some of the interopposition of the USA. He went on war Almost 250 people from 18 districts attended the first Punjab Conference of the Labour Party of Pakistan in late September. Farooq Sulehria reports. In a lively discussion, delegates stressed that Nawaz Sharif's government might not complete its remaining two and half years [though no-one predicted the miliary coup of 12 October]
The capitalists have not solved any basic problems of the masses. In the new era of globalisation, the process of recolonisation of the poor countries have gone quite far. The per capita income in Pakistan has fallen from $US460 in 1990 to
Religious fundamentalism has grown but a new Afganistan or Iran like situation is not an immediate threat in Pakistan.
Delegates said it would be difficult for the army to take direct control, but that some new transitional government might take over, to ensure the speedy implementation of the IMF agenda of privatisation and introduction of new taxes.
There were no major differences between comrades' analysis of key perspectives. Delegates reiterated their commitment for
The Nawaz Government was very the ideas of permanent revolu-
The party's priorities have been fixed as youth, trade remaining Left in the province. Delegates resolved to study and learn from the recent successes of the LPP in Sind province.
Only four delegates voted against the party's 43 member Punjab council. The newly elected provincial chairman is a a Railway worker from Rawalpindi. A former leading member of the Communist Party, he and 32 comrades joined the LPP in August, after three years of
The conference was punctuated by a play about the peasant struggle against feudalism, and demonstrations against UN against Cuba and Iraq, against federal rule in Sind province and against the killings of political activists of opposition
The conference was reported by most of the national media, and delegates congratulated local comrades for an impressive local propaganda campaign, covering the town with posters and wall slogans. * International greetings were recieved from the Fourth International, Australia's DSP, the London group of the LLP, and the LIT.
INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION national power companies which had signed contracts with the previous
The Gulf War and the New World Order
Benazir Bhutto government to build the power generation plants. These contracts allowed the power companies to sell this electricity at a price above the
André Gunder Frank and Salah Jaber (72 pages A4)
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International Viewpoint #316 November 1999