According to statements coming from the top state leaders of the country, the United States along with its Zionist partner attacked Iran, alledgedly as a pre-emptive measures as the country was a threat to the Zionist entity and to the US bases and assets in the region. In the very first wave of attacks, the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was martyred, along with many other in the leadership.

The deliberate killing of a national leader has once again shown the world clearly that US imperialism has forsaken even the facade of abiding by international rule of law. And at the same time, has also demonstrated what it means by the much-spouted new US security strategy of ‘peace through strength’; in essence it is about not only violating international law but mass murder of the innocent and helpless, as an elementary school was bombed resulting in the martyrdom of more than 165 young girls in the very first few hours of the attack.

As the news of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s martyrdom came through, there were thousands of people coming out on the streets across the world demonstrating against the global butcher, the US. In Pakistan, the US Consulate in Karachi was attacked by people, challenging the imperialist power’s action against one of the most revered leader and cleric of the Muslim world. And they were shot by US marines – resulting in the martyrdom of 10 young men. In addition, 15 people died as a result of open fire from Pakistan Army and police. Of these 11 were in Gilgit, 5 in Skardu, and 2 in Islamabad. The death toll in the country is at 27, killed in cold blood for standing up to US imperialism, and Zionism. In addition, more than hundred were injured. Outside of Iran, Pakistan has the highest casualties of war waged by US imperialism.  

It is indeed a stark reality that the state of Pakistan, a Muslim country, is not able to stand up to US-led Zionist genocide and ecocide in Occupied Palestine, where thousands have been killed and are suffering from acute hunger and disease. In face of such massive annihilation of a people, it is also indeed shocking that the country’s ruling elite chose to nominate the US president not only for a noble peace prize, but have also joined him on his so-called ‘board of peace.’ And when the people of Pakistan stand up against US imperialism, they are shot dead. The martyrs were mostly young men, most probably fasting. Instead of protecting its citizens, the state chose to shoot its youth staying true to its status of a puppet regime.

Western imperialism, especially the United States has long been known for the double standards of colonialism and neo-colonialism. This act of killing young people inside the consulate is being justified based on international rule-based order, as it is considered sovereign US territory. However, picking up the president of a country from his country is not a violation of international law? Nor is it so when US troops have picked up Pakistani citizens from the country, or taken back a US security contractor back, who had openly killed 2 Pakistanis on the streets of the country?

ILPS members in Pakistan while condemning the massacre of youth in Pakistan, stress that this tragedy is not merely an isolated security incident but a reflection of the broader imperialist order that continues to treat the Global South as a terrain for domination and control. The grotesque face of the United States is now exposed as a militarized presence that brings only bondage, death and destruction to civilians in countries like Pakistan. The people reject the normalization of foreign military power operating with impunity on our soil.

We stand firmly with the people of Iran resisting imperialist aggression and affirm that genuine peace and security will only be ours when the people unite to fight for national liberation, dignity and just and lasting peace.

December 6-7, Nairobi, Kenya
Wali Haider, Farmers Major Group

Across Asia Pacific, civic space is undergoing one of the most significant collapses in recent decades. What we are witnessing is not only the silencing of activists, journalists, workers, students, women, and Indigenous communities, but the emergence of a deliberate architecture of control that fuses national authoritarianism with global power structures. States across the region are tightening their grip through restrictive laws, expanded surveillance, and the criminalization of dissent, yet these national actions are inseparable from international economic pressures, geopolitical alliances, and the interests of powerful corporations and development finance institutions. The repression that suffocates democratic expression in Asia shares its foundations with the structures that enable the ongoing violent suppression of Palestinians. These are not parallel crises; they are interconnected symptoms of a global order that rewards obedience and punishes resistance.

In many countries, civic space is being restricted through tactics like: anti-terror and security laws used to detain those who speak out, digital identification systems that centralize state power, and internet shutdowns deployed during moments of political tension. Facial recognition and AI-enabled monitoring follow people into the streets and even into their personal digital spaces. Protest movements, community organizing, and student mobilizations are met with both force and sophisticated digital repression. Governments describe these measures as essential for “stability” and “development,” but their real function is to shield political elites, security establishments, and multinational corporate partners from accountability.

This authoritarian turn is not only maintained through force; it is reproduced through economic governance. Structural adjustment programs, austerity measures, and trade agreements imposed by global financial institutions create forms of repression that are less visible but equally devastating. IMF conditionalities erode social protection systems, push up fuel and food prices, deregulate labor markets, and privatize public goods. These policies leave millions struggling to survive, reducing their capacity to mobilize or challenge injustice. Trade regimes and investment protections disempower workers and farmers while strengthening corporations, making collective action more difficult. Meanwhile, development banks push mega-infrastructure projects that displace rural and Indigenous communities, whose opposition is often met with militarization and criminalization to protect the interests of investors. In this sense, austerity and debt are not simply economic policies; they are quiet instruments of political control.

The shrinking of civic space is deeply felt in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Cambodia, Philippines, Palestine and many more countries including in the Pacific where communities across the country describe increasing pressure on public expression and organizing. Farmers resisting corporate seed regimes, water grabbing, or land acquisitions often confront both surveillance and intimidation. Women human rights defenders experience coordinated online harassment that spills into offline threats. Journalists reporting from rural areas, especially on land issues, local corruption, or corporate extraction face severe risks. Civil society organizations face arbitrary financial restrictions, red tagged and branded and labeled “anti-national,” placing them at risk of violence or extrajudicial killings.

This dynamic extends into multilateral spaces including the UN, where the voices of civil society especially grassroots, Indigenous, youth, women’s, and rural groups are increasingly marginalized. Financial support for participation has dwindled, while visa barriers, high travel costs, and restrictive accreditation procedures further limit access. Meanwhile, governments, corporations, and powerful institutions face few limitations, shaping agendas and influencing policy outcomes with ease. The exclusion of civil society from global platforms is not accidental; it serves to reproduce the inequalities and power hierarchies that define the broader geopolitical order.

The repression of civic space across Asia reflects a global system that normalizes authoritarianism as long as it aligns with strategic and economic interests. From Gaza to Kashmir, from Manila to Karachi, the pattern is clear: democratic participation is tolerated only when it does not threaten entrenched power. Global power brokers states, corporations, and finance institutions are not neutral arbiters of “stability”; they are architects of dispossession, profiting from the silencing and starvation of dissent. When multilateral forums reproduce the same extractive hierarchies they claim to solve, their language of “development” becomes a smokescreen for theft, violence, and impunity.

We will not be pacified by platitudes: expose the collaborators, strip power from profiteers of repression, and return voice, land, and dignity to the people.

When people are united will never be defeated!

From River to the sea Palestine will be free – Free Palestine

We, peasants, farmers, farmworkers, Indigenous Peoples, fisherfolk, pastoralists, herders, rural women, rural youth and children, along with our organizations, coalitions, networks, and allies in civil society organizations, reaffirm the anti-imperialist position and the centrality of the peasant struggle for land, food, and justice in achieving sustainable agriculture and food for all. 

We recognize that the clear onslaught of imperialism in its many forms in the Global South, has caused immense poverty, hunger, has displaced millions of rural poor from their homes and communities, and has impeded their development as nations.  

We register our collective objection and resistance to US-led wars and militarism; its expanding corporate and private capture of the world’s resources such as lands and waters, and; the co-optation of climate-recovery solutions for data-mining, data-management, and appropriating resources for such. 

We oppose the US-backed Israel’s genocidal war against the Palestinians, Lebanese, Syrians, and Yemenis that continues to expand especially in Gaza despite reaching ceasefire agreements. And we decry its pivot to Asia Pacific, priming the region for war against China with ally states by building its military bases, clinching security agreements and military partnerships that embolden “counter-insurgency” programs, and holding big war exercises. 

We reiterate that imperialist expansion and capture of communities and food systems facilitated through technology, greenwashing, and supposed “carbon-offsetting” practices put market interest first before genuine development. The infrastructure needed for these  so-called “sustainable” and “smarter alternatives” displace  peasants and the rural poor from their land, uses up water resources and critical minerals needed by countries to build industries for their own development. These so-called “green-technologies” are not just directly involved in land grabbing and appropriating prime agricultural lands, forests and Indigenous Peoples’ sacred mountains for commercial and private use, they also rob our people of the right to development and the right to self-determination.  

We condemn governments’ sweeping neoliberal programs that convert land from sites of self-sustaining food production to serving corporate agricultural demand for profit that not only disrupt established farming practices but also displace and further marginalize underserved communities. 

We highlight the cases of rural people fleeing their homes and farms due to militarization in the countryside and how this is precisely coordinated with counterinsurgency campaigns by governments to inhibit peoples’ political expressions. Making use of advanced technology including its massive data gathering to surveil those engaged in agricultural-based labor, governments and its favored giant corporations collaborate in militarizing rural areas that help facilitate land grabs for so-called green projects, mining of critical minerals, and the corporate capture of food systems. It is clear that military expansion and agricultural digitalization go hand-in-hand in rationalizing the profit-driven production rather than collective nutrition and national development.

We clarify our position for technological advancements that genuinely uplift peoples’ lives and fairly distribute the fruit of peoples labor rather than prioritize private profit and becoming a subsidiary market for weapons development for war and mass coercion. In this case, war has even come to weaponize hunger itself. The technological developments of the latter kind must be clearly revealed as destructive, exploitative, and severely damaging to both the people and the environment. 

And lastly, we push and call for international solidarity of rural peoples and peasants with progressive pro-farmers organizations in the Global North to build and strengthen a broad resistance to the corporate driven climate crisis which is being packaged today to push for neoliberal reforms at the state level, as well as to the wars and militarism that ravage rural communities in the Global South. 

In this year’s Day of the Landless, we, the undersigned, reaffirm our commitment to arousing, organizing and mobilizing our ranks and the broad peasant masses as a formidable force against imperialism. Only through our collective efforts and action can we achieve just demands for land, food and justice. 

Our calls: 

Peasants rise for land!

Intensify peasant struggle against imperialist plunder, war and militarism!

Assert our rights to our resources!

Reclaim our food systems! 

#DOTL2025

In the recent months the focus on women farmers remains a stream. A class analysis of rural women has put them in three categories: land owners, workers on family farms, and landless labor. The first category is no doubt the smallest category, but is representative of the powerful feudal base of the country, enjoying fruits of the land without any hand in labor. The other two categories of women face feudal and patriarchal exploitation, working on land without having any right to land ownership, but their toil resulting in rich harvest for land owners. Agriculture, generating the majority of country’s earnings, as well a major livelihood contributor, remains part of the informal sector, which is a decisive factor for landless women farmers agriculture workers being the most exploited and oppressed at the hand of feudal, capitalist and patriarchal forces. As capitalist mode of agriculture intensifies and increases its grip on agricultural production, many actors are working to highlight the plight of women in the rural economy, raising issues of women’s rights, including right to decent livelihood, safe working environment, right to nourishing food and the most important, right to land. There are also policy level initiatives underway. An example is of the Sindh Women Agricultural Workers Act, which was passed in 2019 but till present little has been done for its implementation. Though, these initiatives are much needed to ensure women can raise their voice in demanding rights, it is also important to remember that exploitative classes, especially capitalism has always used women’s rights as an agenda that benefits its own coffers. Capitalism introduces new technologies much of which require more trained, skilled labor force. This is also being articulated as more and more agriculture universities around the country are stressing the need for trained manpower, a prerequisite for agricultural development. The most critical agenda of all, is to understand that the ultimate and most important of rights is the right to land and which will only be granted based on landless women and agriculture workers’ engaging in this struggle as frontline activists, and not as passive receivers of education and sporadic campaigns.

Corporate Farming – who calls the shots?

With the formation of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), there has been a sharp escalation in public land being given over for corporate farming. In addition, land is also being used for gentrification projects like Zulfiqarabad city in Thatta, Bahria Town and DHA city in Karachi. Apart from such housing schemes, farmers’ rights and nationalist groups have been agitating against about 1.3 million acres of land in Sindh being handed over for corporate farming. The Sindhi Hari Tehreek organized a conference on the matter, with participants demanding land to be distributed among landless farmers, as well as called for an end to feudalism. Land grab is not only being seen in Sindh but also across the country including Punjab where a number of actors have been involved including the Revenue Employees Cooperative Housing Ltd (RECHS) as well the Bahria Town Ltd (BTL), and the Defense Housing Authority (DHA).

At the other end of the spectrum, the commercial enterprises have been praising the federal government’s corporate farming policy. According to the President, Hyderabad Chamber of Small Traders & Small Industry, Mr Shaikhani, there was a need for another green revolution, and furthering the corporate farming agenda, with emphasis on international agriculture technologies. Though he spoke in favor of the marginalized, pointing out that 24 percent of Pakistan’s population (approximately 55 million people) lived below poverty, he did not outline the most critical policy recommendation of genuine land reforms with redistribution of land away from the elite to the peasants, who are in essence the foundation stone for the country’s food security as well as economic growth.

The corporate farming agenda now also carries behind it the support of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government in Sindh, even though regional and nationalist parties had protested earlier in the year against the 50,000 acres being given to M/s Green Corporate Initiatives, (Private) Limited, an army-backed entity for corporate farming. Recently, as many as 27 Chinese containers carrying agricultural equipment for the `Green Pakistan` initiative have come through the Khunjerab Pass.

 The Sindh government also wants to attract corporate investments in agriculture sector, while emphasizing that local growers would be given equal opportunity in such ventures. The PPP Sindh president, Mr. Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, has stated that the Sindh government has to ensure that irrigation water accessibility to the khatedars, meaning landholders based on revenue records. Given the political ambiguity of land ownership, the feudal and rich landlords controlling land and attached resources including water, what will this mean for the small farmers? It is well known that Pakistan suffers from water scarcity, and this year in the kharif season, there is a risk of 30-35 percent water shortage. For Pakistan’s policy makers, issues of national gravity are resolved not internally through democratic debate and resolution based on equitable distribution for all, but on discussions with known imperialist organizations such as the World Bank, for whom all answers emit from privatization of our resources. In a recent meeting with the Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, the World Bank Water Global Director, Saroj Kumar Jha advised that the Karachi Water Board needs to operate like a commercial organization. Needless to point out that the privatization of the energy sector is one of the critical most reasons for Pakistan’s mounting debt.

Ventures like the Kisan Card program are being used to provide small farmers (owning 1-12 acres of land) subsidies and incentives to use ‘best quality’ agro-chemical inputs like pesticides and fertilizers, as well as seeds. Farmers have to register themselves, and open bank accounts at specified banks. These schemes promote digitalization, giving the corporate sector information and access to farmers, as well as ensure that it is their products that are being bought and used by small farmers, increasing their market sphere. It also opens space for Big data to gain insights into farmers’ practices and develop strategic market decisions furthering market hold. It should be pointed out that the World Bank has approve $78 million in financing for the Digital Economy Enhancement Project.

Agro-chemical farming continues to reap super profits from the sale of chemical fertilizers. According to a rich farmers’ lobby, the Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB), the “urea dealers’ mafia” had already minted over PKR 50 billion form farmers in Sindh. Urea prices in the past 12 months have escalated from PKR 2,900/bag to PKR  4,649/bag.

The corporate agriculture policy direction in agriculture development also shed light on the sudden interest in education and skill training programs for rural women as well. At the same time, with more mechanization and digitalization of the agriculture sector, will it mean that millions more landless will have no access to a livelihood?

In short, the only synchronization in agriculture policy is based on the demands of paying off the trillions of dollars of debt that the country’s elite have piled up on the masses. How does corporate farming benefit the landless and how does it provide food security for the people? These are questions that are critical for the economic, social and political well-being of the country.

Climate Imperialism

According to a new report released by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), ‘The Unjust Climate,’ floods and high temperatures have globally widened the income gap between rural poor and non-poor households up by $21 billion a year. Further, with every day of extreme heat, poor rural households lose 2.4% of their on-farm incomes, 1.1 percent of the value of the crops they produce, and 1.5 percent of their off-farm income relative to non-poor households. This certainly depicts the reality of Pakistan. The Global Climate Risk Index, ranks Pakistan as the fifth most climate-vulnerable country in the world. Pakistan also faces some of the highest disaster risk levels in the world, ranked as number 23 out of 194 countries.

Climate crisis facing Pakistan has many times resulted in the destruction of millions of dollars-worth crops, livestock, infrastructure and lives and livelihood of farmers, and rural people. At the same time, rising sea levels continue to destroy agricultural land. Though the advanced capitalist countries are historically responsible for the ongoing climate catastrophe, there is no recognition of the fact. The economic crunch along with the climate crisis are being used to further corporate-owned agriculture technology; collaborations on different projects are happening between different actors including Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Sindh Agriculture University (SAU), Tandojam, and Australian Research Council. In addition, the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) in collaboration with Chinese partners has introduced climate-resilient wheat varieties that would provide higher yield per acre, that would be useful in ensuring food security for the country.

Professional farmers, such as those from the SAB, also have been urging the use of genetically modified seeds, and private sector led research initiatives for provision of ‘quality seeds’ for climate change adaptation. In other words, paving the way for agrochemical monopoly corporations to take advantage of disaster, destruction and suffering of others for increasing their profits.

Production Woes

While grand plans are underway for modernizing agriculture in the country, there are still many hurdles faced by farmers. For instance, availability of urea remains a grave issue, with imported urea being provided to fertilizer corporations but farmers unable to procure the product. At the same time, though there was a much higher cotton production than the previous year, the demand for cotton remained low, with at least 200,000 bales o cotton lying with ginners, due to the dire economic situation, high tariff rates on power and gas as well as steep taxes on the industrial sector.

For the current cotton sowing season, the government has decided on at least one million acres for cotton production. However, there have been complaints voiced that there was non-payment of the minimum support price of PKR 8,500 that had been promised at the start of the previous season.

For wheat procurement in the current season, Sindh government has approved a target of 900,000 tons of wheat to be bought at a support price of PKR 4,000/bag. The Chief Minister has directed procurement of 100,000 bardana (bags) for wheat collection from farmers. However, in spite of a bumper crop, there was news of wheat procurement from Ukraine. With delays in wheat procurement by the government, it was reported that wheat was being bought from farmers at a much lower price, with unjust deductions in payment based on excuses such as moisture content in wheat grains.

The Debt Trap Panacea – agricultural trade?

Pakistan’s external debt rose by $1.2 billion in six months to $86.358 billion as of September 30, 2023, and stood at $85.18 billion, while the public debt rose to PRK 42.62 trillion (approximately $153 billion) in January 2024.  According to the IMF, Pakistan is now seeking another medium-term bailout package that is based on longstanding structural reforms; if the IMF executive board approves the package, the staff-level agreement would be based on $1.1 billion — 828 million special drawing rights (SDR) — by late April.

According to news reports, four areas remain central to the new IMF standby agreement. These include firstly, strengthening public finance which translates to broadening the tax base in particular sectors that are real estate, retail and wholesale trade and agriculture. Secondly, to restoring the energy sector’s viability by accelerating cost-reducing reforms. Cost reducing reforms means budget cuts in production to reduce cost and increase profits, and is often hinged on cutting labor costs. Thirdly, there is emphasis on reducing inflation, which is based on the free-floating foreign exchange market. Fourthly, the emphasis on privatization continues, as well as further reforms of government owned corporations. In summary, all of these measures do not address price control of products but focus on letting Pakistani currency’s value be based on foreign exchange markets, as well further shrinking of the labor market, all measures that could ultimately result in further rise in market prices, joblessness, depreciation of the Pakistani rupee value, resulting in further economic hardship for the people.

The economic growth of the country remains unstable with the Large-Scale Manufacturing (LSM) growth at a negative -0.52 percent, and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth at only 1 percent in the second quarter of FY24. The decline in economic growth, along with the stiff conditionalities especially tariffs on electricity and gas continue to have a debilitating impact on the industrial growth as well as the working class, the urban poor and the peasantry. Inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has come down from 28.3% in January to 23.06% depicting a slight decrease in the prices of food products. However, raw food products exports had risen by 35 percent in the previous month, up from $518.87 million to $702.46 million, raising food inflation to 20.2 percent.

The way out is of course increasing foreign exchange earnings, and there is a clear governmental effort to increase exports, as well as open the country to foreign direct investment. The government has invited United Arab Emirates to invest in real estate, energy, agriculture, information technology, sectors which have also been under perusal under the IMF agreements.

Malaysian government is interested in increasing import of rice from Pakistan, while welcoming free trade agreements between the two countries. Pakistan, with the help of National Logistics Corporation (NLC) has been exporting bananas, meat and seafood to Central Asian countries, as well as kinnows to Russia. Though in February, textile exports rose to $1.4 billion from $1.18bn during the same month last year, overall, in the first eight months of FY24, textile and clothing exports shrank 0.65 percent from $11.21 billion to $11.14 billion, based on the high production costs related to higher energy prices. It is also notable, that FDI from China, Pakistan’s largest investor, saw a steep decline of 80 percent during this period.

Worth pointing out that in spite of such troublesome data, the corporate sector has been reaping rich profits. On the KSE-100 index, 83 corporations have shown a growth of 45 percent, with profits of $5.94 billion up by 6.3 percent in 2023.

Pakistan Privatization Ltd

With poor credit ratings, the government is unable to get much credit. At the same time, the IMF conditionalities continue the push privatization policy as one of the key recourse for overcoming the crushing economic crisis facing the country. The Privatization Commission is supposed to be working out a three-phased privatization program for public entities in the next five-year plan (2024-29). According to the Federal Minister for Privatization and Board of Investment Abdul Aleem Khan, 15 to 20 institutions must be privatized immediately. There are also ongoing discussions with IMF to introduce reforms within the FBR

The privatization of PIA is considered a priority, and British firm Ernst & Young had been appointed as financial advisor for this purpose. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), member of the World Bank Group, who had earlier last year been appointed by the government of Pakistan as transaction advisor under the Public Private Partnership Act 2017, has informed the Federal Minister for Defence, Defence Production and Aviation Khawaja Muhammed Asif, above the outsourcing of three major airports including Islamabad International Airport, Jinnah International Airport Karachi, and Allama Iqbal International Airport Lahore in the first phase.

Capitalism’s unending disasters

While the thrust for privatization and more and more corporate sector encroachment is being encouraged, there seems to be a blind eye to the environmental disasters, and corrupt practices it brings in its wake. According to the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency, its survey of 270 industries across four industrial zones has shown that dozens of industries are non-compliant with environmental laws. Assessment measures on discharge of effluents has shown that many industries are responsible for polluting air spaces as well as ground water. Pakistan has been categorized as the second most polluted country in 2023. According to according to ‘2023 World Air Quality Report’, published by IQAir, a Swiss air-monitoring organization, Lahore is the most polluted mega city globally, with pollution levels at 99.5 micrograms per cubic metre (μg/m³), 20 times higher than WHO guidelines. Data from Pakistan Air Quality Initiative (PAQI) has shown that hazardous air quality is resulting in a life expectancy loss of 4.4 years.

While privatization is considered to provide the best option towards development, there is little to prove this assumption. The people of Pakistan continue to suffer from tuberculosis, diabetes and cancer, with women also facing potentially triple-negative breast cancer. It’s reported that the country witnesses approximately 608,000 new TB cases and 15,000 drug-resistant TB cases, annually, while every fourth Pakistani suffers from diabetes. Private hospitals are in the meantime taking advantage of a government hospital, Services Hospital Lahore, by illegally obtaining postgraduate training and house jobs from the facility.

Climate crisis, which has been unleashed on the basis of climate imperialism continues to leash its havoc, not only in Pakistan but globally, with Vietnam suffering from huge loss of arable land due to rising sea levels. While the climate crisis leaves the most vulnerable suffering from loss of livelihood, the World Trade Organization continues to push for more free trade agreements that are entirely detrimental to small producers; a recent example is the passing of the WTO’s fishing agreement which has decided that fisherfolk are responsible for ‘illegal fishing.’

The many atrocities of capitalism also include the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Immune to the intense hunger faced by the people of Gaza, the Zionist Israel continues its food and humanitarian embargo in Gaza. According to UNICEF, said every third Gazan child is severely malnourished.

It is indeed tragic that the world’s policy makers, including those in Pakistan are unable to see the downward social and economic disasters befalling the country. The voices raised by the people against stark injustice ushered through neoliberalism, or induced by climate imperialism fall on deaf ears of our state.

With the start of a new year, the situation in the country sees no real change in terms of economic stability. It is unfortunate that in 75 years, it has gone to the IMF 23 times for financial bailout programs. The State Bank of Pakistan has received the second tranche of $700 million, which is approximately equivalent to SDR 528 million. The last tranche of $1.2 billion under the $3 billion Standby Agreement is expected in March 2024.

Data on Pakistan’s borrowing record is stark testimony to its achievements in being able to pull itself out of debt on a path to self-reliance and economic stability: it ranks 5^th in outstanding debt at $7.4 billion. Other countries before Pakistan are Argentina, Egypt, Ukraine, and Ecuador. According to Pakistan’s Economic Affairs Division (EAD) data, the country seems to be functioning on borrowed money; it has borrowed $5.968 billion from multiple financing sources during the first half (July-December) of the current fiscal year 2023-24 compared to $5.595 billion borrowed during the same period of 2022-23. According to news reports, Pakistan has received $1.2 billion as the first tranche of the $3 billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) in July 2023, and $1 billion from the UAE. If these amounts are added to the total financial inflows, a total of $8.168 billion during the first half of the current fiscal year (FY).

In the fiscal year 2023, Pakistan purchased $894 million, accompanied by charges and interest payments totaling $776 million and $325.8 million, respectively. According to the IMF, an IMF loan is disbursed by the borrower’s purchase of foreign currency assets from the IMF with its own currency. Repayment of the loan is achieved by the borrower’s repurchase of its currency from the IMF with foreign currency. In 2022, Pakistan’s purchase from the IMF had been $1.64 billion, which is testimony to its dependence on the IMF. It is noteworthy that the IMF has downward revised real GDP growth to 2% from 2.5% for the ongoing FY.

Panacea or Poison

In order to get out of the debt quagmire, it seems that the government policy making is based on neoliberalism, with emphasis on increasing exports as the lynch pin. The Federal Minister Commerce, Industries & Production as part of the caretaker government, has been paying especial attention to increasing trade relations with various countries, and has even been visiting the MENA region to boost Pakistani trade. In addition, he is hopeful that exports will cross $100 billion in the next five years if the 10,000-acre new industrial zone in Karachi comes to fruition. That this push for exports is having an effect on the trade deficit is certainly there, as it has narrowed by 34.29 percent in the first half (July-December) of the current fiscal year 2023-24. Exports in December have increased by 22.21 percent, from $2.3 billion last year to $2.82 billion for the same corresponding month.

On the whole, there has been increased exports for a number of agricultural goods such as maize, whose exports have tripled, escalating from $85 million to $262 million in a period of one year, and rice whose exports in the same period from last year have gone up from $282.53 million to $367.39 million. Similarly, textile and clothing sector exports have gone up to $1.39 billion, up from $1.35bn in the same month the previous year, and has shown an expansion of 3.3 percent. The export of raw food products have increased massively up to 111.63% in December 2023, and overall, agriculture and food exports jumped by 64% during first half of current fiscal year; the increase was from $2.345 billion to $3.847 billion in same period last year. It needs to be highlighted that our major export markets are the European Union, USA and China. Given the intense political tug of war between the western imperialist countries and China, with Pakistan caught in between, it does not border well for Pakistan. It is important to note that Pakistan is adopting trade settlements in Chinese RMB rather than US dollars. There has been an increase of nearly 600 percent in trade settlements using the Chinese currency. This will decrease the country’s dependency on US dollars but of course what will it mean in terms of Pakistan’s debt obligations to China have to be further studied.

From the perspective of food security, the upsurge in exports for rice, (especially basmati), meat and fruits has other ramifications as well. High food prices mean hardship and hunger for the people at home, especially the very farmers who are responsible for rearing the livestock, fruit and vegetables. In the end, though huge loans taken by governments run by elite of the country, the cost is born by the working masses. There has been high inflation in the country, going up to 29.7 percent in the last months. According to reports, various consumer companies saw their unit sales falling and declining purchasing power of the people. They have been blamed on soaring prices of basic kitchen items, as well as electricity rates. The economic situation of the common man is well understood by suicide cases being reported which include murder of family members as well based on inability to meet family needs. Such shocking cases portray the suicidal rise in basic items. This is even more tragic, given that global food prices came down in 2023. According to the FAO, its Food Price Index (FFPI) fell by 10% below its December 2022 level.

Apart from promoting exports, foreign direct investment (FDI) is also being promoted in the country. Only in November, 2023, FDI increased by 12 percent, growing from previous year’s $117 million to $131.4 million in the same time frame. SBP data for the first half of the current fiscal year shows that a net FDI of $862.6 million was received and is a 35% increase. Foreign investment is based on the primary self-interest of the investors and does not necessarily take into consideration the needs of the local communities, or country’s welfare. The aid agencies as well as commercial groups of various countries including China, UAE, USA are interested in investment in agriculture, including fruits, mines and minerals. This trend is quite apparent. The Caretaker Federal Minister for Privatization has concluded the privatization of the Heavy Electrical Complex (HEC) with the purchasing party IMS Engineering. The Asian Development Bank has stated that it would promote enhancement of the role of the private sector in its so-called climate resilient housing ecosystems. No doubt that these investments will promote neoliberalism, hinged on privatization that would increase the role of transnational corporations responsible for human rights abuses and environmental degradation.

Produce and Export, No Matter the Cost

Agriculture production is bulwark of export. And the means for increasing production seems to lie only on external inputs and technologies. The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet has given permission importing 200,000 metric tons of urea as a buffer stock, which is being brought in from Azerbaijan. There were special instructions given against hoarding and ensuring farmers’ easy access to the input. Apart from urea, agriculture sector machinery and equipment were also imported, showing an increase of 60.76 percent.

Of course, multinational corporations such as Nestle have been promoting modern technologies, and for ‘educating’ farmers. It is quite ironical that the farming sector, which is the biggest export sector, responsible for most of the foreign exchange earnings, is always being considered the most backward.

In the same vein, another Spanish clothing multinational, Industria de Diseño Textil (Inditex) is also interested in working with farmers in Pakistan. According to D&B Hoovers, Inditex is one of the world’s largest fashion retailers, globally having 6,475 shops under seven different banners, including Zara, Bershka, and Zara Home. It is owned by a Spanish billionaire. One wonders, why such a corporation, which has faced intense criticism for its ‘fashion sense’ making fun of ongoing massacres in occupied Palestine? Further, can giant multinational corporations who are responsible for intense exploitation of workers and environment deliver justice and equity?

In any case, Inditex has provided funding to the International Labor Organization (ILO) for carrying out the second phase of a program, Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (FPRW) in the cotton sector. The objective of the workshop is to promote rights of cotton workers, and capacity building of cotton-growing communities to advocate for their rights and address gender inequalities in the sector. The ILO and Inditex entered into a partnership in 2017 to promote an integrated approach to FPRW in the cotton supply chain in China, India, Mali and Pakistan.

Another news item provides information on the caretaker Sindh government and M/s Green Corporate Initiative (Private) Limited entering an agreement to provide over 52,000 acres of land in six districts for corporate farming. This initiative falls under the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC). The M/s Green Corporate Initiative (Private) Limited which is under the umbrella of the Pakistan Army is supposed to carry out corporate farming using barren land in all provinces of Pakistan. It should be noticed that in November 2023, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) had approved provision of PKR 20 billion through the Federal Government to the Defence Division, Ministry of Defence. According to the news, based on the successful pilot corporate agriculture farming project in Punjab, a government-to-government (G2G) Joint Venture Agreement was signed at Chief Minister House between the Sindh government and M/s Green Corporate Initiative (Private) Limited. The amount of land and districts included in providing barren land include 28,000 acres in Khairpur, 10,000 acres in Tharparkar, 9,305 acres in Dadu, 1,000 acres in Thatta, 3,408 acres in Sujawal and 1,000 acres in Badin. The agreement is based on 20 years to carry out the so-called Green Pakistan Initiative.

It should be pointed out that while thousands of acres of land is being handed over for corporate farming in Sindh, the province is facing persisting water shortage that could lead to a drought. In addition, climate change impacts including calamities as well as rising sea level has been eating up land and/or it has been destroyed by salinity. The year 2023 has been marked as the hottest year in world records. In Pakistan, the climate crisis has had a major impact on the cotton crop, which has been suffering a decline for a number of years, and even this year the production did not reach the set target. In the mountains, there has been a dry spell and lack of snowfall which means lesser amount of water in the rivers. This will impact fish species that breed in the downstream ecosystem. The impact of climate crisis, now having been upgraded to climate emergency is a global phenomenon. Across the world, countries are suffering from drought, forest fires, decreased ground water and other impacts. For experts on the subject, the answers lie in attracting foreign direct investment in the fisheries sector. Colonial dominance has allowed dependence on foreign expertise rather than trying to tap into indigenous knowledge systems and finding answers from the communities’ wisdom gained over centuries. It is worth pointing out that while so much emphasis is being put on trade and foreign trade, the world is going through an intense political upheaval, with wars and militarization disrupting trade routes. The genocidal aggression by Apartheid Israel against Gaza, suggests of a looming famine in the Strip, with its entire population of 2.2 million already facing crisis levels of food insecurity.

Is this the time for relying more on trade or is it time to assess our internal strengths, capabilities and promote self-reliance leading to a resilient national economy? A recalibration is also needed as according to the World Bank’s analysis Pakistan’s the economic performance does not seem so rosy, with growth projected at only 1.7 percent. This scenario is also predicted globally, where third year in a row, economic growth is predicted to remain slow, prolonging poverty and debilitating debt levels in many developing countries.

The discrimination against small and landless farmers is quite blatant. In Kohat district, the agriculture department has introduced drones for pesticide spraying. From a health perspective, no doubt its beneficial for the farmers to spared pesticide spraying. But a remark from a senior member of the agriculture department that such technology is more time efficient, as well as spares the cost of hiring labor is objectionable. Livelihood, and for that decent livelihood is the responsibility of the state and such remarks show a stark lack of concern for the livelihood of agriculture workers.

Small farmers have great difficulty in accessing these chemical fertilizers due to black marketing, and due to land being intoxicated to these chemicals, it is difficult to get a good harvest without their use. It should be noticed that in the current FY budget, PKR 30 billion have been allocated for fertilizer subsidy. However, the subsidy is provided as gas subsidy to fertilizer plants, and then fertilizer has to be sold at a subsidized rate. As is seen every year, in the end chemical fertilizers are in short supply and hoarded to be sold at much higher rates than set by the government and/or or smuggled out of the country. In summary, profits are minted by various interest groups except small farmers.

At the same time, the government officials protect the big landlords by not levying taxes on their income and agricultural land. According to a tax expert, Dr Ikramul Haq, the remedy is to let the federal government collect the taxation on agricultural income, while transferring to the provincial governments collection of sales tax on goods. According to him, the current situation allows concentration of resources and powers in the hands of privileged classes who support corrupt government officials as they safeguard interests of these elite segments of society. There has been a constant resistance from the federal government and provincial authorities to impose income tax on agricultural income of rich landlords based on their political clout. In the FY22-23, agricultural income tax accumulatively from all of the provincial governments was PKR 2.4 billion. Reportedly, its national potential could be up to PKR 800 billion, if the agricultural income tax was imposed in accordance with the Constitution.

National Assets: Our Children

There is a price to the above policies. And it is being paid by children. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s first provincial Child Labor Survey 2022-23 has shown that 11%, about 745,165 children are employed as child labor. The situation would be more or less the same in the other provinces. With accelerating economic deterioration in the economic stability of the country, children are forced to share in financial provision for their families. Another issue that revolves around children’s health is the increasing occurrence of Type 1 diabetes in children in Pakistan. Around 100,000 are estimated to be suffering. The cause of Type 1 diabetes in children is considered to be the presence of high fatty and processed food. It is considered to be more prevalent in urban rather than rural centers and is also due to lack of healthy environment providing children the awareness and space for physical activity. The context of development is based on many parameters defined in the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN. It is quite evident that children are being neglected in the country based on glamorizing values pertaining to profit-seeking Capitalist society especially targeting children.

There has to be a more wholistic view of development rather than just seeking foreign exchange and chasing our tails to get rid of the mountainous debt.

With the formation of Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), there has been heavy emphasis on promoting agro-chemical agriculture, with Green Revolution technologies considered markers for progress. The role of the Pakistan Army in SIFC remains dominant. In context to the project ‘Green Initiatives,’ the Pakistan Army Chief of Staff (COAS) has identified plans for ‘agriculture malls,’ that would supply various facilities to farmers. He has been quoted, to have said that “provision of easy agricultural credit, cold storage chain, climate change resistant seeds and genetically engineered livestock will be ensured”.  These development in the agriculture sector are alarming, as the economic and political positions of ‘famers’ in the country is divided into those who are on one hand big feudal lords, and rich farmers, while the bulk of those who till the land, are small farmers and agriculture workers.

This is in essence the crux of the matter. Agriculture sector, though it remains the major employer in the country has declining productivity. Climate change is often held responsible for the poor performance. However, political factors are not given the weightage that they deserve. On one hand there is vast inequity in land distribution, and on the other modern technologies and private sector are considered a panacea to all ailments. The long-term harm caused by Green Revolution policies are totally ignored. Agriculture university academics are lamenting soil infertility, with more than 6.3 million hectares of land having been destroyed by salinity. While soil nutrients are decreasing, we have the defense forces claiming they want to bring back the glory of development through Green Revolution technologies, which are globally accepted to have been the key catalyst to environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity, and a severe impact on human health. Even under acute national debt of $128 billion, instead of planning policies that would decrease the debt and increase local reliance in agriculture production, a new Green Revolution package worth PKR 2 billion has been introduced.

Apart from the crippling harm to biodiversity, especially loss of local and indigenous seeds, and pesticide poisoning, there is also now overwhelming dependency on profit-seeking agro-chemical corporations. Apart from these issues are also, bureaucratic procedures, poor policy planning and implementation, black marketing of agricultural inputs, soaring unbridled cost of production are all factors that do not take into account ground realities of small farmers. An example is that while ‘experts’ emphasize insurance and small loans for small farmers, according to a report from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has provided data that of the total population of farmers of 8.2 million, only 9.5 percent of the farmers were insured against the disaster risk insurance and small loans. At the same time, at peak sowing seasons, there has been continued shortage of chemical fertilizers, a situation that has been prevailing for many years. This year, government officials had assured urea imports of 200,000 tonnes; however, all provinces have reported once again, acute shortage of the chemical fertilizer. Farmers have been protesting against the black-marketing of urea fertiliser by dealers. The ultimate result is that a majority of the peasantry is pushed deeper into debt and poverty. Apart from the scenario at home, the use of agro-chemicals for agricultural production is being questioned, globally. At the COP28 UN climate summit in Dubai, there were calls for complete phasing out of chemical fertilizers based on their heavy reliance on fossil fuels.

For the policy makers in the country, the way out from the high national debt ultimately relies on increasing exports. In the past month, two export advisory committees were established, one for exports of the textile sector, and the other for the non-textile sector. They are expected to formulate policy guidelines that are to be shared with SIFC. Based on these developments, the Export Advisory Council (EAC) held its inaugural meeting under the chairmanship of Caretaker Minister for Commerce, Dr. Gohar Ejaz, charting the course for Pakistan’s $100 Billion Export Vision, where a $50 billion elevation of exports in the next five years was considered. While there are discussions of increasing textile exports underway, Punjab, the biggest cotton producing province was not able to reach even 50% of its cotton production. It’s worth pointing out that the textile industry has been reeling from the impact of highest ever energy cost, a direct result of the conditionalities of the IMF. It is also important to point out that adverse weather conditions have not been kind to cotton production, globally.

Trade – the merry go round

Exports are tied to trade relations with other countries, and Iran and China are key trade partners. There has been further developments in Pakistan-China trade relations. China has agreed to revise the Free Trade Agreement. Private sector parties of Pakistan and China have signed several memoranda of understandings (MoUs) with a $10 billion investment in four major export-oriented sectors. Joint ventures (JVs) planned include establishing industries in key sectors including textiles, agriculture, food, and car spare parts manufacturing.

Additionally, a protocol has been signed to export halal meat to China. In the coming weeks, Pakistan will commence shipments of boiled meat to China. Mr Gohar revealed that a protocol has been signed with a Chinese investor to cultivate peanuts across 10,000 acres of the Cholistan desert. The peanuts will be exclusively grown for export purpose. In addition, China is willing to put forth new investments in automobile, mineral, and agricultural sectors, with joint venture in the textile sector, with Chinese technology to be used in special economic zones. The Chinese government has also agreed to consider the option of providing trade finance in Yuan. Trade with Iran has also shown further developments with respect to barter trade.

Among exports are also fodder exports to Kuwait, based on cultivation of high protein fodder ‘alfalfa.’ The caretaker CM Punjab, is emphasizing the scientific drying and preservation of this nutrient-rich feed. There are also plans to provide alfalfa seeds to farmers for cultivating the fodder. Other key players, such as FPCCI members have highlighted the importance of increasing rice exports, while hoping to meet an annual rice export target of $3 billion by the end of the fiscal year (FY) 2024.

Further, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, food exports have increased year-on-year by 37.12 percent during the first five months of the current fiscal year, recorded at $2.64 billion during July-November 2023-24 as compared to $1.92 billion in the same period last year. The rice exports surged by 49.37 percent to $1.11 billion from $749.4 million, last year. Likewise, the exports of fruits rose year-on-year 15.27 percent to $128.13 million, leguminous vegetables 79.01 percent to $0.084 million and spices 19.21 percent to $45.179 million.

While there is an increase in food exports, the situation of food security in the country is not so rosy. UNICEF is looking for $135.6 million from the donor community for 2024 to meet the critical humanitarian needs of more than 5.5 million Pakistanis, including 3.4 million children. These fund requests for 2024 are for the protracted and ongoing nutrition emergency following the 2022 floods, and for Afghan refugees residing in Pakistan. According to UNICEF, funds requested will be used to help 1.3 million people gain access to safe water and sanitation, provide essential health and nutrition services for 5 million people, among other uses. The state of hunger and malnutrition cannot be separated from high food inflation in the country. In November 2023, it stood at 29.8 percent in urban and 29.2 percent in rural areas, whereas non-food inflation was 30.9 percent in urban and 25.9 percent in rural areas. The rise in food prices, particularly wheat have been met with popular protest. In Gilgit-Baltistan, a shutter-down strike was observed as the increase in the rate of subsidised wheat, has significantly increased over the past six months — first from PKR 7.5 to PKR 20 per kg in June, and then recently to PKR 52 per kilogram

The Lynch Pin – Foreign Direct Investment

Another area of concern for policy makers is the decrease in remittances, which has been a key sector for earning foreign exchange. The World Bank has projected a drop in remittance flows to Pakistan to $24 billion in 2023 and further drop below $22 billion with 10 percent decline in 2024.

While Pakistan is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate crisis, more than 50 percent of foreign direct investment (FDI) has been in the power sector of Pakistan, mostly for coal power projects.  Most of the coal power projects are being funded by China. According to the government of Pakistan, the Thar coal reserves are worth $25 trillion, much needed to pay back foreign loans.

Policy making seems to have an internal conflict. Increasing exports is the highest priority, and given the billions in dollars in debt, it is understandable. However, the very policies that are enacted for increasing exports, end up increasing the debt burden instead of reducing it, as it is heavily reliant on further loans, and opening the country to foreign investments; investments which keep the investors profits at heart, and is not concerned with other social, political and/or economic consequences that may arise for Pakistan. Projects like the Green Initiative, are being critiqued as ‘poison for the country,’ where millions of acres of land are being offered for corporate farming.

The debilitating climate disasters in the country are based on the global character of climate crisis. This is further exacerbated when agrochemical technologies are introduced, and at the same time increasing food and agriculture exports to foreign markets. The impact of climate disasters are suffered by the population, mostly those segments who are the most marginalized.  It needs to be pointed out that the impact of these disasters are long term. After the 2022 floods, to date, 1.3 million people remain temporarily displaced in Sindh, Balochistan, and KP, with 900,000 concentrated in five hardest-hit districts of Sindh, posing risks due to preexisting vulnerabilities. According to the World Malaria Report 2023, as a result of the 2022 floods, Pakistan is facing a five-fold surge in Malaria, with reported cases escalating from 500,000 in 2021 to 2.6 million in 2022; this was based on stagnant water providing an optimal breeding environment for mosquitoes. In addition, over 150,000 cases of watery diarrhea are being reported every week across Pakistan as children are facing micronutrient deficiencies. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), other reasons for the spread of the disease were displacement, healthcare system breakdown due to the crisis, increased levels of food insecurity and malnutrition. Further, according to the World Bank, Pakistan’s GDP is expected to decrease by a minimum of 18 to 20 percent by 2050 due to severe climate-related occurrences, environmental deterioration, and air contamination; all of these factors are directly related to capitalist, modern technologies dependent on fossil fuel production. The situation globally is also alarming, as there is further increase in global warming. According to scientists, based on available data, ‘ice cores, tree rings and the like suggests this year could be the warmest in more than 100,000 years.’

And then, as part of the panacea, further loans are provided for mitigating the impacts. For instance, the Asian Development Bank has already approved a $80 million concessional loan as part of its $1.5 billion pledge of support for Pakistan’s recovery from the 2022 floods.

One also needs to examine the ethical character of lending institutions. It is in this vein, an organization, the Fair Finance Pakistan carried out a policy ranking of leading commercial banks, based on which it was reported that these banks had low policy commitments in the following areas: climate change, human rights, gender equality and labour rights. On a scale of zero to 10, with zero being the least desirable policies, the five banks scored an average of 0.5 for addressing climate change. These banks have not publicly disclosed any climate policies alig­ned with the Paris Agreement. All five banks scored an average of 0.72/10 in human rights policy ratings. None of the banks disclosed human rights policies related to their investment or financing, which is “not aligned” with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. In a similar vein, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Extinction Rebellion, a climate activist group blocked a major highway demanding an immediate end to the financing of fossil fuel projects by the country’s largest bank, ING. According to Extinction Rebellion, ING was the main financer of fossil fuel projects in the Netherlands.

The hypocritical face of corporations can be clearly seen by the fact that in Pakistan, a program, “Recharge Pakistan’, a seven-year, $77.8 million activity to use nature to help adapt to climate change, has as one of its funders The Coca Cola foundation, which is providing $5 million. It is no hidden secret that Coca Cola company is one of the worst corporations in the world that is not only creating plastic pollution, but offers a high sugar-based soft drink that has no nutritional value, rather just the opposite. In addition, it is part of corporations that are known for funding the apartheid Israel, carrying out genocide in the occupied Palestine. The brutal aggression carried out by Zionist forces in Gaza have led to wide scale protests by hundreds of healthcare professionals, paramedics and students. In face of such brutality, it is quite atrocious that corporations like Coca Cola are being allowed to provide funds for climate crisis or any other issue, when they themselves are active players in the ongoing ecocide, globally.

Grotesque Imperialism

The Israeli assault in Gaza has many consequences for economic development as well as social and political freedom across the world. There are millions of people protesting against the genocide and intense destruction of Gaza. With Yemen blocking the Red Sea, it has already impacted global trade with world’s largest shipping corporations having re-routed their ships and imposed extra charges. Similarly, the attack on democracy and human rights in occupied Palestine, has been beyond what has been seen in recent years. Since October 7, in Gaza more than 20,000 people, mostly women and children have been killed, while the health system has been destroyed through Zionist aerial bombardment. According to the UN World Food Programme, half of the 2.3 million Gazan population is starving. The Palestinian foreign minister has stated that Israel is using food as a weapon of war, as the occupation forces have cut off food, medicine and fuel forcing starvation on the people. The year 2023 can only be remembered as the starting of the demise of the legitimacy of the western countries that have been holding the world accountable for human rights, women’s rights, freedom of expression and peaceful demonstration, among other pillars for democracy. The economic crisis, the environmental and climate crisis are all set for becoming worse. It is the time for uniting for raising our voices for genuine democracy and just and lasting peace.

Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek in solidarity with industrial workers commemorated May Day 2024, at the Hattar Industrial Estate, Haripur at a time, when the state of the working class, the peasantry, women and children showcases starkly the brutal force of imperialist economic policies and militarism.

The series of International Monetary Fund (IMF) standby agreements in the past few years has resulted in massive inflation, which from 2022 to 2023 skyrocketed from 12.2 to 28.2, respectively. The impact of rising prices of food, transport, education, health, and water utility bills can be seen in the escalating poverty rates in these years from 34.2% to 39.4%. The IMF conditionalities have increased electricity and gas rates to an extent that many industries are now unable to function. Corporations and industrialists are taking advantage of these conditions and have sacked thousands of workers, while those who still remain employed face exploitation with their labor rights severely truncated or non-existent. Workers are forced to work long hours, with a minimum of 12 hours, with no increments or increased wages. It is also important to highlight the conditions of women workers, who are about 70% of the informal economy and cannot claim any of their rights as workers. With the astronomical rise in the price of wheat flour and all basic food items, women face multiple levels of oppression, on one hand, the exploitative conditions at work, while at home have to provide the heavy burden of care work which has increased manyfold as many of the social services available have been drastically reduced.

In the era of imperialism, as there is escalation of wars of aggression for marking territorial claims, the true face of imperialism, its fascist nature, and draconian lust for death and destruction is tragically visible in the ongoing genocide in Gaza, and the Occupied Palestinian territories. As the warmongering continues to rise, the US has once again shown its fascist tendencies by standing firm with an apartheid regime like ‘Israel,’ and expanding its military strength, especially in the Asia Pacific. In many parts of the world, there are struggles for national liberation and genuine democracy including Myanmar, Indian Occupied Kashmir, Philippines; fascist regimes will do their utmost to stifle dissent, as can be seen in the terrible response of the militarized forces in the US against students standing up against the Palestinian genocide.

As imperialism tries to increase its control over resources and markets, there is no doubt that in the coming years, the exploitation of workers and peasants is going to intensify further and will face the force of imperialist attack. The only way forward for us is to organize ourselves, to face the attack against our livelihoods, our land and life.

Release by Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek (PKMT)

Letter to the Brazilian Government, entities and leaders of communities in Central America, Latin America and the Caribbean and the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP)

The Brazilian Union of Women – UBM, the Brazilian Center for Solidarity with the People and Fight for Peace – CEBRAPAZ and the International Democratic Federation of Women – FDIM, actively listening to “Palestinian Women, the Pillar of Resistance”,* engaged in the fight for Peace and in Defense of Palestine sought to give visibility to Palestinian women because they have been, together with children, more than 70% of the people murdered by Israel.

Palestinian women have always been an integral part of the struggle for freedom and emancipation of their people. The history of Palestinian resistance is full of names of heroines, activists who refused to remain silent and without action while Palestine was colonized.

In addition to the many names that are recorded in Palestinian history, there are thousands of combative and heroic women who have always been “and will still be” part of this history of resistance: they are grandmothers, mothers, sisters, friends, comrades. They are in a permanent struggle and resist for the right to exist and for their children and grandchildren to live with dignity.

However, Israel refuses to give up the territory it illegally occupies, to dismantle its apartheid system, to respect international law and the rights of the Palestinian people. To this end, it maintains a ruse into which it intends to drag the United States and other allies: Israel’s strategy is to break isolation by attacking disaffected governments, such as Iran, in order to drag the entire region into an unprecedented conflict.

The key to avoiding a regional war is a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, allowing humanitarian aid delivery and assistance, recognition of the “Palestinian State” with an end to the Israeli occupation, and a fair peace agreement.

Responding to the calls for active listening by “Palestinian Women, the Pillar of Resistance” and the outcry of statements from Palestinian and Palestinian institutions and intellectuals, we make some necessary considerations for immediate and forceful action with the Brazilian Government, as well as urging entities and leaders of communities in Central America, Latin America and the Caribbean and the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) with the leading role in the “Lula tem Razão!” movement, from the Global South.

In this way, we position ourselves against the lies disseminated by “Zionist propaganda” in the mainstream press, which has been distorting the facts and reality of the legitimate and just cause for emancipation and the right to self-determination of the Palestinian People.

That said, we echo the calls for “active listening” with this hearing:

1st Appeal: For harassed and imprisoned women

1. The Israeli army, firmly and daily, is implementing policies of retaliation and revenge against Palestinian women and girls, carrying out beatings, domestic vandalism and humiliation, without taking into account their privacy by invading homes, especially those of Palestinian women who were detained and recently released;
2. We express our aim to promote a feminist mobilization to support Palestinian women, expose the crimes committed against them by the occupation and exert pressure on governments and parliaments to take responsibility for the denial of women’s rights in Palestine, considering that, recently, there was an escalation in the detentions of Palestinian women and girls, based on retaliatory political-ideological tendencies and the use of them as hostages;
3. It is necessary to mention that there are currently 81 women detained in Israeli prisons, the majority of them in Damoun prison, in precarious health conditions, without medical assistance and at risk to their lives.

2nd Appeal: To end the supply of weapons to Israel

1. The continued supply of arms and ammunition from the United States and allied countries to Israel, encouraging it to wage war and aggressive actions, and pledging to protect it militarily and politically, will always encourage Israel to go further in its crimes, which gradually increased to the level of genocide;
2. We call on human rights, humanitarian and civil rights organizations and militantars active in countries of the Global North to follow the example of their French counterparts in bringing legal action against European governments that support Israel with weapons, holding them accountable for supporting Israel in its crimes and obliging them to stop exporting weapons and ammunition to Israel and to refrain from providing political cover for their crimes;
3. We demand that governments break contracts for weapons and ammunition, consultancy and provision of services in public security and environmental management with the State of Israel, such as the partnership contracts between Brazil and Argentina, in the region of Patagonia, administration in water management and basic sanitation with Mekorot (Israel’s main national water agency).

3rd Appeal: To freeze Diplomatic Relations

1. We appeal to international public opinion to pressure the occupying authority to avoid a catastrophe in Rafah, at a time when the Israeli occupation army continues its bloody attack on all areas of the destroyed Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem;
2. As we address this appeal to the Brazilian Government and the leaders of Central, Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries – CPLP, among others that maintain diplomatic relations with Israel, we urge them to freeze their relations with Israel in order to avoid the invasion of Rafah and a military confrontation that could escalate into a war against Iran. Any country that maintains diplomatic relations with this entity, which, under current circumstances, threatens Palestinian existence and all Arab national security, will tarnish its image. Suspending relations with a country that violates the norms of international law is an ethical and moral duty of States.

4th Appeal: To the resistance of the working class

1. We call on activists and organizations from around the world to establish that May 1, 2024, International Workers’ Day, is “Palestinian Resistance Workers’ Day”, aiming to highlight the need to defend the Palestinian resistance in its right to fight for its liberation, strengthening it at a higher level against the oppression of workers around the world;
2. We make this call at this decisive moment in the developing world’s revolt against US imperialism and the countries of the North to affirm that the path for the labor movement to re-establish itself on a global scale as an agent of revolutionary transformation is to courageously ally with the liberation struggles of the Global South and mobilize workers towards this objective.

5th Appeal: For freedom of the press and communication

1. The Freedoms Committee of the Palestinian Journalists’ Union denounced that Israel continues to target and close media institutions in occupied Jerusalem, while insisting on the decision to prevent satellite TV channels from operating in Jerusalem, in addition to the ban on journalists of working on press coverage in Jerusalem, around the Al-Aqsa Mosque, in the Occupied West Bank and mainly in Gaza, where journalists have been deliberately targeted in murderous and systemic  attacks, including against their families, with the destruction of equipment work and their homes;
2. It is essential to support and subsidize legally and diplomatically the Palestinian Journalists’ Union in its tireless efforts and demands to prosecute Israel for its crimes against murder, aggression and impediment to the exercise of journalistic activity in Palestine at all levels, regional and international, reporting their crimes within the legal requirements of war crimes tribunals and international tribunals, as freedom of the press and expression is a cornerstone of human rights. These are principles that must be respected.

6th Appeal: For academic and scientific freedom

1. Professor Shalhoub-Kevorkian was arrested by Israeli police on April 18, 2024, on suspicion of inciting terrorism and violence because of her unwavering stance against the genocide in Gaza and her insightful analysis of Israeli settler colonialism and its racialized violence;
2. Her arrest, when she suffered psychological torture and ill-treatment, follows an ongoing campaign of harassment, including a letter demanding that she resign from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem for signing a ceasefire declaration. The treatment of intellectuals and academics in Israeli prisons exemplifies a systematic pattern of “educacide” against Palestinian academics and educational institutions. Furthermore, the fact that an internationally renowned academic is being detained and persecuted in this way serves will have a chilling effect on academic freedom and solidarity with Palestine.
3. We call on you to sever all ties and cease all collaborations and joint projects of any kind with universities and research institutes that maintain this persecutory pattern against academics, intellectuals and students/researchers until you put an end to your decades-long complicities with the Israeli occupation and the apartheid system in defense of academic and scientific freedoms.

Support and subscribe to this letter

The organizations that produced this letter invite other interested organizations, institutions and groups to sign the letter, in a joint effort to support Palestinian women and promote peace in the region. Interested parties can contact us via email at ubmbrasil.mulheres@gmail.com and editores_recos@terra.com.br to join the initiative.

Access the letter in full with the updated list HERE: https://abrir.link/LGwPc

This letter represents a collective effort for justice, solidarity and peace in Palestine, demonstrating the importance of international unity and mobilization in times of conflict and injustice.

According to the Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Dr Kauser Malik, Sino-Pak agricultural ties and joint efforts will help address the issue of food security and to learn from each other’s experiences. Similarly, the Alternative Livelihoods Options project, a five-year project worth $1.3 million  finished recently; it was meant to teach women improved agricultural practices and increasing their access to new, alternative crops. According to the US Ambassador Donald A Blome, who participated in a closing event of the project, “the achievements (of the project) are far-reaching,” and has “helped establish fruit orchards, vegetable gardens, greenhouses, and irrigation systems benefitting more than 25,000 people.” In addition, USAID’s Economic Recovery and Development Activity (ERDA) is collaborating with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Agriculture Research and local farmers, in pioneering an innovative approach to certified wheat seed production in District Mardan.

Through the many decades that Pakistan has received back-breaking loans and other grants to help us ‘develop,’ the outcome has been disappointing. In the 21^st Century, when we are confronting climate crisis, global warming is a vicious reality destroying millions of acres of land and livelihood: can countries like the US and China, who have a history of chemical intensive, ecologically suicidal agricultural systems teach Pakistani farmers how to practice agriculture production?

The Food Ministry has announced that no seeds, including genetically modified organisms (GMOs), would be permitted into the country without complying with the prescribed Plant Quarantine Regulations and Seed Regulations. But such a compelling directive is actually misleading. The government is requesting a technical and commercial research report for potential import of GMO seeds for oil extraction and meal production. There is no dialogue nationally on a controversial issue as GMOs, especially with farming communities, while the emphasis is to study global standard operating procedures and sanitary and phytosanitary protocols for GMO soybean seed importation. Apart from the corporate driven Sanitary and Phytosanitary Mechanisms and Technical Barriers to Trade agreements of the World Trade Organization (WTO), on the question of seeds, one must always remember that Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) agreement of the WTO. TRIPs and other WTO agreements have strangled agriculture economy of third world countries because, based on these agreements,  mega-corporations of rich industrial countries have been able to capture local production and markets in food and agriculture. Global standards are for mega corporations of the rich industrial countries, and is the absolute opposite of the concept of food sovereignty.

One good news, at least on the surface, is that the Sindh livestock department and the Sindh Agriculture University (SAU) Tando Jam have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for preservation of indigenous cattle breeds such as Sindhi Kundhi buffalo, Sindhi red cow and other breeds.

In the end, our focus on development is based on having faith not in the peasant class, which is directly responsible for much of the wealth generated through agriculture production as can be seen from financial gain of PKR 400 billion with the increase of 4 million tons of wheat production in 2022-23. Additionally, $3 billion has been earned from the export of basmati and coarse rice this year. The Pakistan Business Forum (PBF) has stated that said Pakistan’s exports in rice, and sesame seed increased by 13.5 percent, while the trade deficit decreased by 4.5 percent during the same period.

But the contribution of the small and landless farmers to the economy is ignored, while, there is no end to recommendations on collaboration with government research institutions, the private sector among others.  For instance, the Sindh Agricultural University Vice Chancellor, Dr Fateh Marri has pointed out that over 3.5 million tons of valuable banana waste was burnt every year although it could be used to produce by-products, including fiber, composite fertilizers, confectionery and cosmetics. His suggestion is to form a banana research group comprising public, private and industrial sectors along with research institutes and growers, and hoped that this group could become part of World Banana Forum. The word ‘growers’ invariably means rich farmers, and not the peasantry itself.

At the same time, agriculturists, economists, progressive farmers and researchers have lamented the situation where agriculture sector in Sindh is hostage to commission agents, who, instead of farmers, fix prices of farm products. In Punjab, farmers have been raising complaints on the non-availability of fertilizers, and pointing to overcharging of the commodity by dealers. Urea was being sold at PKR 4,200-4,500 per bag against the government-prescribed price of PKR 3,600 per bag, while DAP prices were around PKR 13,500 per bag, with many police reports being filed against dealers for black marketing.

The Punjab government had fixed wheat sowing target for 2023-24 at 16 million acres to achieve a target of 25.6 million tons, but given shortfall and black marketing of inputs will this be possible? Even if it is possible, given shortage of oil and gas fuel as a critical input for their production, where does it leave us in the long run? The government is reportedly engaged with Russia, China and Azerbaijan for purchase of 0.2 million tons of urea fertilizer for the Rabi season. Is it feasible, given our huge debt, that we continue to rely on chemical fertilizers that are on one hand are expensive and detrimental to climate and soil fertility, and on the other, based on dependency of external sources?

It also needs to be emphasized that infrastructure development is often not finished in time; the caretaker government has indicated that work on the construction of Daducha Dam with an escalated cost of Rs10 billion has been resumed, while three key water sector projects face funding shortfall.

In general, there has been an increase in exports in the country. According to the Pakistan Statistical Bureau (PSB), higher shipments to China, and exports to nine regional countries resulted in a year-on-year growth of 14.3 percent in the first four months of the current fiscal year. Pakistan’s merchandise exports increased for the second month in a row after a year-long downward trend, data released by PBS. In absolute terms, the exports were recorded at $2.70 billion in October against $2.38 billion over the corresponding month of last year (20222), amounting to a growth of 13.55 percent. The textile and clothing exports recovered, with a recorded growth of 5.92 percent, with exports rising to $1.44 billion, up from $1.35billion in the same month last year.

Similarly, raw food products saw an export surge of almost 60 percent in October. Apart from basmati rice, meat exports were worth $152.58 million in the 4MFY24 in comparison to $128.46 million over last year, achieving a growth of 18.77 percent. Increase in meat exports is based on reaching new markets that include Jordan, Egypt, and Uzbekistan.

From February to August, sugar export figures reached 248,854 tons against no exports recorded over the comparable period of last year. Fruit exports, in the first four months of the FY24 increased 13.53 percent to $108.99 million against $96.003 million over last year. All other food exports increased by13.88 percent to $404.52 million in the first four months of the FY24 from $355.22 million in comparison to the corresponding months of last year. In the same period, only fish and fish product exports worth $123.86 million saw a decline of 7.96 percent from a year ago of $134.57 million.

Fish and fish exports have declined. However, Pakistan has successfully secured a two-year extension (December 2025) to continue the commercial export of fish and fish products to the United States. This decision by the US administration exempts Pakistan from adhering to the standards outlined in the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) of 2016, to offer additional time for aligning fishing practices with US environmental standards.

The result of increased food exports resulted in higher prices for consumers at home. It has been reported that ‘unchecked exports’ resulted in a high food inflation of 29 percent in October, 2023, making access to essential food items such as wheat flour, rice, sugar, meat and vegetables difficult.

Contesting news reports point to, at the least, lack of coherency in food and agricultural directives. There have been unprecedented high sugar prices at PRK 200/kg that resulted in the ECC imposing an export ban from August 10, 2023.A relevant point regarding sugar production is though profits accumulated by the sugar industry, there is big gap in fair prices for sugarcane. The caretaker Chief Minister of Sindh, fixed the minimum price of sugar cane at PKR 425 per 40 kg, whereas Punjab has fixed it at PKR 400 for the same quantity. However, in Punjab, farmers have rejected the sugarcane support price demanding that it should be raised to PKR 500 per 40 kg, at least. Various farmers’ platforms have been contesting the price, as well as highlighting the bias in favor of the industry and not farmers.

Similar tussle is apparent with respect to government policy and industry. The Pakistan Flour Mills Association has rejected the wheat issue price of PKR 4,700 per 40kg announced by the food authorities. The Association pointed out that adding PKR 800 per 40kg as incidental charges to the cost of grain procured by the government at PKR 3,900 per 40kg from the farmers was not fair.

The question of food security is also quite muddled. The National Food Security Ministry has announced that the country has well-stocked wheat reserves, as federal and provincial food departments have total stock of 6.934 million tons of wheat. At the same time, according to European traders, the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP), has issued an international tender to purchase and import 110,000 metric tons of wheat.

The presence of ‘trawler mafia’ in Gwadar robbing the local fishermen in Makran of their livelihood is being raised, as well. Chairman Hidayatur Rehman Baloch, Haq Do Tehreek (HDT) has pointed out human rights abuses faced by the Tehreek in advocating for their rights; in spite of promises by the previous government, workers and leaders holding protests have been tortured and arrested.

Apart from the fisher folk facing scarce livelihood there is also ongoing marine ecological crisis which also fails to get government attention.

According to a World Bank study in Pakistan, there was a link between malnutrition and poor quality of water which inhibited the absorption of healthy minerals in the body. According to Dr Alvi, the President of Pakistan, climate and water emergency had exposed the underlying dysfunctions in global, national, and local economies, that failed to produce economic, environmental, and social justice for people. He proposed developing platforms with the involvement of the communities to encourage them to follow preparedness, and resilience initiatives on water conservation

Climate change and rising global temperatures have affected marine ecosystems, as well as fresh water upstream of the Indus River delta. A result has been a decline in fish catch, impacting fisherfolk’s income. The Ministry of Food Security, Government of Pakistan through its Fisheries Development Board will develop a digital link through a website to bring together various stakeholders (farmers, auctioneers, whole-sellers, processors and retailers); the website will be providing fish farmers information on market price as well as demand for fish in in national local markets. Public and private sectors will be supported to further fish production, especially in in Gilgit Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Khyber Pakhtunkha, shortly. One does wonder though, can the vast bulk of fisherfolk engage in such a digital platform?

Pakistan and China are emphasizing controlling livestock diseases, so as to enhance the growth potential in order to increase per animal production and solve livestock health issues. The federal government has provided PKR 36.6 million, Export Development Fund to build a ‘center of excellence’ at an estimated cost of Rs200 million to protect the Kinnow crop against different diseases.

One has to ask, are these measures for the majority who comprise of small and landless farmers, fisherfolk, or is for the rich industrial sector, and the traders?

Pakistan remains a highly indebted country. The past months have shown Pakistan to be near bankruptcy and default. Almost four months down the road things remain on shaky footings. Based on AidData, US international development research institution, Pakistan is the third biggest recipient of Chinese development finance worldwide; only two per cent of China’s portfolio in Pakistan between 2000 and 2021 consisted of grants while the rest was in the form of loans. 2017 onwards, Chinese finance has been mostly for rescue loans rather than developmental projects.

Saudi Arabia has rolled over the $3 billion deposit facility for another year to support State Bank of Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves which may fall to below $4 billion in case the amount is withdrawn.

Pakistan’s development policy has included attracting international investment. The Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) has been playing a key role in Pakistan and Kuwait venturing into seven Memorandum of Understandings for investments amounting to $10 billion, in various fields such as mining, food security and environment. Similarly, under the SIFC, leaders of UAE and Pakistan, witnessed by the Chief of Army Staff, have also signed MoUs worth billions of dollars to boost economic and strategic cooperation between the two countries.

It is expected that there will be no roadblocks to the IMF’s release of about $710 million second tranche of $3 billion Standby Arrangement (SBA), most probably to be released in December. However, the Fund, and the World Bank have raised concerns over SIFC, advising against creation of a group of preferred investors.

At the same time, industry leaders in the country want the government to seek other sources of cheaper external financing; the current business environment is difficult due to the high electricity, gas and petroleum prices.

The thrust of neoliberalism continues to be trade and investment, along with privatization. Privatization of PIA, and outsourcing of airport operations are still on the books. Climate crisis continues to be a major disruptive force in economic development especially agriculture. Global warming is ever present, to play havoc with agriculture production as well as communities. For instance, Himalayan glaciers are supposed to lose up to 75 percent of their ice by the century’s end, according to the International Centre for Integrated Mountain. Avalanches, and lake bursts are a feature of Northern areas of Pakistan.

An Islamabad-based climate change expert has pointed to the use of fossil fuels in energy, transport, industries and agriculture for the emission of greenhouse gases (mainly carbon dioxide and methane), which are the main reason for escalating global temperatures. As has been iterated numerous times, Pakistan’s global carbon emissions are less than one percent.

According to the caretaker Finance Minister Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, Pakistan is facing a trade-off between raising climate finance and development finance, as seeking money for climate finance negatively impacts development finance. The country needs an estimated investment of $340 billion to address climate and development challenges between 2023 and 2030.

Given the continued price escalation in essential goods and services, especially food, energy and transport, and lack of decent livelihood, there have been many protests happening across the country. While Metrobus security staff have been protesting as they had not been paid their salaries for three months, Karachi University, and Karakoram University students have been agitating against tuition fee hike. In Punjab University, students were marching for revival of student unions in educational institutions across the country.

The brutal war by the Zionist State of Israel continues and people across Pakistan, as well as Azad Jammu and Kashmir, have been standing in solidarity with Palestinians across the country. In particular, the presence of schoolchildren in street marches is noteworthy given the US-led Zionist aggression in Palestine has been especially targeting children.