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.

Of the total 8.3 million acres of agriculture land where standing crops have been destroyed, 3.4 million acres are from Sindh. Village after village has been inundated leaving 1545 dead as well as heavy economic loss. According to the Pakistan Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), Sindh September 17, 678 people have died. From June 20 to 30, 2022 18,138 livestock was lost, from June 20 to 30 August 232,593 livestock has perished: this sharp rise in losses is also reflected in other statistics.

No doubt, the imperialist mode of production based on capitalism and its greed for profit, are responsible for continuous high rate of carbon emissions and the ensuing global warming, and stoking the climate crisis, increasing the frequency of extreme weather events, globally, resulting in climate disasters one after the other; currently, there are floods not only in Pakistan but also India, Sudan and Italy.

On one hand, there are anti-people policies of the United States, Europe and other rich industrial countries, and on the other hand, the Pakistani state and its elite are least concerned about the crippling hardship being borne by the people, especially the small and landless farmers; this is also true for Sindh government and feudal lords that have shown condemnable performance in duty and conduct. The continuous rains and floods have already destroyed standing crops, and now small and landless farmers face a grave danger that they will not be able to sow the wheat crop in the coming season, a crop critical for the rural population and national food security. In Khairpur, Shikarpur and Ghotki, in many areas water is still standing on agricultural land. Big landlords are using state machinery to for cleaning drain canals to get rid of the standing flood water, while small farmers are waiting for government to take needed action to clear their lands as well. In some areas, where drainage canals are not accessible, big landlords are draining water to adjoining lands; if small farmers try to stop them or to push water further down, they have to face the wrath of the big land lords along with the police force.

A very critical point is that if small and landless farmers are unable to cultivate wheat in the coming months, then there will be an immense increase in hunger and malnutrition in the rural population. According to 2021 statistics, Pakistan ranked 92 among 116 countries with respect to hunger, which indicated serious hunger in the population; in Sindh from April 2022 to August 2022, the average price increase in wheat flour was approximately 36 percent – in those months 2022 wheat flour stock was still available in the market. Now when the Kharif crop including rice has been destroyed, if in the coming months wheat crop is also impacted due to the current situation, how will the small and landless farmers be food secure? What will happen to their livelihood and economic security?

Our government, whether it’s the Government of Pakistan or Sindh, has been turning its eyes away from the dire economic situation of poverty stricken small and landless farmers. No doubt, it’s only because of the extremely hard labor of this class that the feudal landlords, the Khans, the Sardars are able to amass billions of rupees; their families have a prosperous life, consume the best available – this is all because of the farming community. In this time of acute desperation, if we are not treated justly, if our land is not made ready for sowing, if there is not a timely provision of seed and other agricultural production inputs then the small and landless farmers across the country will not bear the resulting hunger, humiliation and deprivation quietly, we will rise to take our rights.

Based on this imperialist climate crisis, farmers have not only been deprived of their land and livelihood but also cannot access food, drinking water and much-needed medicines with acute shortage in the market. Millions of women farmers are living under the sky with no protection from the heat and the blazing Sun, they do not even have mattresses to sleep on; there are uncounted pests and disease in the environment, and acute shortage of mosquito nets. The women farmers of Sindh have lost their most important crop, cotton, which allows them to earn some cash for household expenses and stock wood as fuel; there is acute shortage of fodder, and some Sindhi women farmers, walking hundreds of miles have been migrating with their livestock to Punjab. The prices of all basic need items are sky-high. In these conditions, where is our State? Where is the Sindh government? Why is there failure in controlling the sky-rocketing prices? Why are rural communities not being provided with basic necessities? It is the task of the Pakistani state to demand the US and other rich industrial imperialist nations to pay for the loss and damages incurred through this monstrous climate calamity. In these terrible conditions, instead of the State looking after the people’s needs, it has allowed the US defense forces to come in the pretext of examining the havoc created, and instead of responding to the calamity, it has requested the US government to provide the Pakistani state with USD 450 million worth of military weapons. We reject such imperialist ventures, and instead demand the following:

1.  The US and other rich industrial imperialist nations must pay for the loss and damages incurred through this monstrous monsoon and climate calamity;
2. Based on human rights, food, water, medication, safe shelter and other amenities should be provided to all rural communities, immediately;
3. Particular attention should be paid to fulfill women’s needs for security and sanitation, especially for pregnant women and/or women with new born babies;
4. Immediate steps should be taken to drain water from agriculture land, so that it can be made ready for cultivation. Needed agriculture production inputs and other facilities should be provided free of cost;
5. Fodder for livestock should be made available immediately, free of cost;
6. All debts held by small and landless farmers should be cancelled and further interest-free credit should be provided;
7. A wide-scale fumigation must be carried out to curtail mosquitoes and other pests;
8. Construction of shops and homes should be carried out free of cost; the PKR 25,000 should be increased to PKR 100,000;
9. In the pretext of providing aid, imperialist policies that allow corporate sector encroachment over agricultural production and markets must not be entertained;
10. In agriculture policy making and implementation, small and landless farmers’ (50% women and 50% men) leadership must be mandatory.

Capitalist mode of production, its imperialist impositions for centuries is responsible for the Climate Climate Emergency and the “Monster Monsoon” in Pakistan is a terribly tragic manifestation. With extreme weather patterns happenings at a much higher frequency across the world millions face acute misery and suffering. According to Global Climate Risk Index (CRI) Pakistan has been among the top 10 countries most affected by climate crisis since 1999, even though its emissions remain less than 1.0% of global emissions but the suffering of its people know no bounds: in 2017 there were record extremes in temperature of 54.0°C in Turbat, Pakistan. Since the Super floods of 2010, Pakistan continues to face very high temperatures, lashing rain, floods as well as drought in various parts of the country, and 2021 was considered the seventh warmest year on record (1961) across Pakistan. The monsoon season stretching from July to August has in certain areas received generally three times more rainfall than average. To make matters worse, there has been continuous melting of Pakistan’s 7000 glaciers, with several glacial out-burst floods. The country holds the most glacial ice found outside the polar regions.

The socio-economic cost of the current debacle is still to be fully understood; up till now more than 1,500 casualties as well as large number of injuries have been reported, with more than 33 million affected, mud houses having been swept away, standing crops and orchards over 2 millions acres of land have been entirely and heavy loss of livestock as well as infrastructure. There is extreme lack of food, safe drinking water, sanitary facilities, clothing as well cooking facilities, shelter for livestock; reports of many forms of diseases and for women and children there is added misery as there are issues of safety, maternal and child care.

The working class of Pakistan, especially the small and landless farmers, are paying a very heavy cost for the carbon emissions from the fossil-fuel dependent capitalist production of rich industrial nations, while the vulnerability of rural communities has increased many fold as they also have had to face the grotesque whiplash of neoliberal policies for decades.

The stark truth is that this calamity is not a ‘natural disaster,’ it is the result of consistent imperialist policies spearheaded by the US and G7 states, as well as other rich industrial nations that have not allowed any change in their fossil-fuel production; the goal of course has been amassing super-profits for their corporations. It needs no reminding that the US is the highest polluter, and even though it would like to point fingers at China and India, one must not forget that while the US population is only 4.25%, China and India combined population is 36 % of the global population, and hence US remains not only now but historically the worst polluter. The Paris Agreement in itself, and the following years have first, clearly shown the absolute disregard by rich industrial nations of the dire consequences of global warming, and the need for drastic cuts in carbon emissions, and second, the refusal to take historical responsibility of their critical role in global warming, consistently failing to honored their pledges on climate finance to the affected countries.

Imperialist countries, especially the US in the aftermath of such diabolical conditions are quick to take advantage: in the name of humanitarian aid there are methods devised to subjugate the people and the state to further forms of neo-colonization. The US Central Command (CENTCOM) has sent an assessment team to Islamabad to determine what potential support Department of Defense (DoD) can provide to USAID as part of the United States’ assistance to the flooding crisis in Pakistan: nothing could be more ominous for the people of Pakistan. The long history of the US economic, political and military interference in Pakistan and Afghanistan has had a very heavy economic, political and social toll on both the countries and its people. Since 2003, the US has been carrying out direct drone attacks in the country; in 2008, millions of dollars of US military aid was provided to the Pakistan military for carrying out supposedly operations against the Taliban which led to vast displacement of the Pakistani people a large majority of whom still are living in extreme deprivation; during this period US economic aid including food aid was used to for extensive policy reforms to pave the way for corporate capture of the country’s resources and markets.

After massive destruction, the US left the country accusing the Pakistan military of aiding and abetting the Taliban; this pattern was followed in Afghanistan last year. Of course one must remember, the much more devastating role of the US in Afghanistan where currently millions of Afghans, especially Afghan women and children facing acute hunger with famine staring in their faces.

As part of the larger geopolitical game, on one hand the US has done its best to isolate Pakistan for developing a closer alliance with China, and on the other hand, strengthening its ties with India and bolstering its military strength. One can see the immensely harmful foreign policy approach taken by the US which will result in vicious pitting of nations against each other, and further deteriorating stability in the region.

US imperialist policies are responsible for the acute economic disaster facing not only Pakistan, but many neo-colonial countries, they use the IMF and the World Bank to keep a suffocating grip on poor economies pushing us deeper into the suicidal debt trap while maintaining their colonial relations with the local elite, who of course cannot be absolved of the responsibility of maintaining these neo-colonial ties.

People’s demands for Climate Justice are:

• People-led decision-making and implementation process;
• Implement sustainable production and consumption policies;
• End imperialist corporate control over resources, production and markets;
• Genuine agrarian land reforms;
• Rich advanced countries to cut carbon emissions to bring back global temperature to levels fits for a stable ecological systems;
• Rich industrial states to pay for climate-related loss and damages in neo-colonial countries.
• End Climate Imperialism! Climate Justice Now!

International League for Peoples Struggle – South Asia (ILPS-SA)

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“Counter Attack!” is an initiative of the Resist US-Led War Movement. With the US war machine dishing out its propaganda attacks to make itself look like the defender of democracy in the conflict over Ukraine, we will push back with our own narrative COUNTER ATTACK to remind everyone what it really is!

Each post will feature a notable quote from an “expert” in the US government, military or media establishment that exposes the hypocrisy behind their criticisms of rivals or celebrations of themselves.

Pakistan has been among the top 10 countries most affected by climate crisis for the past several years. This climate crisis is not natural but the result of the fossil-fuel based capitalist production system, a system driven by imperialist imposition of domination. In the past few years, the devastation and suffering of the people due to climate crisis have been increasing intensely: these include floods, droughts and other intense weather patterns occurring almost every year from 2007 to 2022. The devastation of the recent heavy rains in Pakistan is considered to be more destructive than the 2010 floods, in which more than 20 million people were affected and more than 2,000 people had died; it needs to be pointed out that the  floods have as yet to pass through most of the country.

According to NDMA, the National Disaster Management Authority of Pakistan, the number of people affected by the recent heavy rains and floods is increasing day by day across the country. Millions across the country including Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been displaced, with their homes, livestock and crops washed away, and thousands having lost their businesses. There is acute shortage of food leaving thousands to face hunger. The province of Sindh has been particularly affected with nearly all standing crops destroyed including rice, corn, cotton, sugarcane and vegetables. According to the report of PDMA, Sindh many the districts of Sindh province including Dadu, Khairpur, Shaheed Benazir Abad (Nawab Shah), Larkana, Nowshehro Feroze, Shikarpur, Sanghar, Kashmore, Ghotki and Mirpur Khas and others have been severely affected by the recent incessant rains and life has been paralyzed. There have been 402 casualties, 1,055 people suffering from injuries and a loss of more than15,000 livestock. Just in the Sindh province, 3,269,608 acres of agricultural land has damaged and crops were destroyed.

The above figures are issued by the Departments of Government of Sindh and are based on the reports so far, while there is a risk and fear that these figures may increase with time and may not reveal the actual figures right now. The actual assessment and estimate of the damage caused by these rains can be carried out only after the disaster has passed.

Disease is breaking out in humans as well as animals. Thousands of people are stranded in the open, on highways or on roadsides waiting for relief. According to the members Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek (PKMT), coming from various districts government aid in affected areas is negligible, with the government’s incompetence and unresponsiveness clearly to be seen.

No doubt that the severe devastation through climate change is not only in Pakistan but suffered by many countries, especially countries in the global south. The responsibility of this crisis rests entirely on the capitalist countries of the first world and their corporations as their carbon emissions have not only been historically very high and remain unchecked till now; it should be noted that Pakistan’s share in carbon emissions is less than one percent, The industrial countries refuse to take responsibility for the severe destruction and suffering through climate crisis in our countries and refuse to include payment of loss and damage to climate negotiations. The meagre aid provided does not allow rebuilding of people’s lives and livelihood. The working class of Pakistan, especially the small and landless farmers, are paying a very heavy cost for the carbon emissions of fossil-fuel dependent capitalist production of rich industrial nations.

Pakistan is suffering not only from an environmental crisis but also a severe economic crisis, pursuing false promises of industrial development, increased trade and prosperity; what has prospered is the debt burden of the country with heavy interest payments being made to the IMF and other commercial lenders. It is well understood that there can be no chance of overcoming the debt trap, the escalating prices of basic necessities including basic food items under the present imperialist system leaving peasants and the working class to face hunger, poverty, death and destruction.

The country was already reeling under the stress of an acute economic crisis and has had to now deal with severe destruction caused by climate change. In order to be able to face the current economic and climatic calamity, there is an urgent need for the people to unite and struggle against these profit-making capitalist and feudal institutions and class.

Immediate demands of Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek are:

1. Speedy provision of food, adequate shelter and medical aid facilities should be arranged immediately for the affected people;
2. Accurate assessment of damages caused by rains and floods and proper awareness should be given to the public.
3. Houses and shops etc. should be constructed free of cost. Also, immediate relief should be increased from PKR 25,000 to PKR 100,000, while carrying out proper assessment of losses suffered and compensated accordingly.
4. All loans taken by small farmers should be waived and/or paid by the government. Also, interest-free loans and other facilities should be provided for the future.
5. Proper arrangements should be made for addressing climate emergencies in the coming years by identifying the real drivers of climate crisis, creating public awareness and finding viable solutions.
6. Capitalist countries should fulfill their historical responsibility and provide immediate financial assistance to developing countries like Pakistan to restore the damage and destruction caused by the environmental crisis.

Release by: Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek (PKMT)

Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek (PKMT) members in various districts of Sindh (Shikarpur, Ghotki, Khairpur, Badin and Tando Mohammad Khan) and Rajanpur, Punjab have been heavily impacted. Many of our members that we have been able to contact have left their villages and are either staying in shops, schools, on the roadside or with relatives. All cooking fuel (wood, animal dung) is lost or wet; many are going hungry and have very limited resources at hand. Most of their saved wheat and rice grains have been lost, also. Some have also lost their livestock.

The PKMT Steering Committee held an emergency meeting and few actions have been agreed upon. 

A press conference on Aug 30 in Sukkur Press Club is going to be held to emphasise government’s criminal negligence in safeguarding against the current situation and lack of relief initiatives as well as for demanding immediate government support, as well as develop mobilization on holding rich industrialized countries accountable for the continuous debilitating destruction, debt, hunger and misery faced by the poorest most vulnerable populations, especially women, children, elderly and the disabled persons.

A solidarity visit of PKMT members from Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkwa will happen as soon as the rain stops and allows passage possible. The group will also be able to assess what is needed to help out PKMT members in need.  We are also thinking ahead for October- November when it will be the wheat sowing season. If farmers are not able to carry out sowing in November, there will be an acute shortage of wheat further exacerbating the current crisis.