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.

Geopolitical tensions have been directly pushing the seventh session of the United Nations Climate Assembly towards timid, lowest-common-denominator outcomes, as great-power rival states stripped draft resolutions of binding language and turned them into soft ‘cooperation’ statements,” said Wali Haider, leading the Farmers’ Major Group, at UNEA-7. The FMG participated in meetings, submitted statements and advocated for peasant and smallholder farmers’ rights, soil health, seed and food sovereignty. At a critical time, such as 2025, when we are off track to meet major requirements of climate treaties such as the Paris Agreement, climate governance should ideally strengthen to prevent further damage to the planet. For countries like Pakistan, the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC and the United Nations Environment Assembly are major events that determine future policies. The UNEA is the world’s highest-level decision-making body on the environment, providing overarching policy guidance. But UNEA-7 becomes a stage where the environmental crisis is acknowledged but never truly confronted, because confronting it would require confronting the industries and governments that currently run the world.

This year, it started with ambitious draft resolutions on the impact of AI, management of minerals and environmental crimes. Only 11 resolutions were passed. Half of the proposed texts remained an issue of debate and did not pass. These included those on critical issues such as environmental crimes and deep-sea protection. Ongoing wars and geopolitical tensions block any strong text on environmental harm in conflicts, with states insisting on vague wording to avoid legal exposure and resist references to conflict-linked destruction. Language became the centre stage of negotiations, with countries trying to dilute the wording of resolutions. When they are not clearly drafted, the resolutions become impractical.

“Ambition has been sacrificed on the altar of economic interests. The resolution on minerals and metals repeatedly collapsed because the world’s most powerful states refused to let global environmental rules interfere with their extractive and industrial interests. Mining corporations and metal traders sit invisibly behind national positions, pushing governments to strip out any binding safeguards or oversight of critical mineral supply chains. Diplomatic language about development, sovereignty, and enlightened self-interest becomes a shield to protect the destructive industries that fuel national wealth and geopolitical leverage.” Wali added.

Until the global political economy is restructured to integrate direct financing for vulnerable nations like Pakistan and provide groups like the Farmers’ Major Group with actual decision-making power, international assemblies will continue to be stages where crises are acknowledged but not resolved.

The real roadblock is not technical complexity. It is a global political economy engineered to defend extraction, even as the environmental crisis deepens. It is no longer a matter of confusion, lack of science or capacity gaps; it is a global political economy built on unchecked extraction and militarised resource competition that shifts the burden onto poorer communities and weaker states. Asked about the negotiations, Norway’s Minister of Climate and Environment Andreas Bjelland Eriksen said it had been a difficult year. “The mandate of the UNEP has been challenged at times. Negotiations have been tough as we had a hard time finding common ground or a common language to negotiate effectively,” he said.

A report by Climate Home News said states like Turkey, which is planning to host the COP31, have also been lobbying with other states to block some resolutions. Major powers like the US disassociated from the resolutions and raised questions on the principles and standards of global governance. Specifically, the US said they back out from the UNEP resolutions that they believed fell outside the organisation’s mandate. “Many resolutions contain problematic language recognising rights that do not exist. We are committed to pragmatic, science-based cooperation that advances environmental protection while respecting national sovereignty,” the US official addressing the closing plenary of the Assembly said.

Dalia Fernanda Marquez of the Women’s Major Group at the UN observed that some countries wanted to remove all references to gender from official texts. She argued that the assembly needs specific gender-based data, as a gendered perspective on the climate crisis is missing from these debates, especially in resolutions such as those on antimicrobial resistance, which must incorporate a gender perspective because women often serve as primary caregivers and agricultural workers. AMR refers to the process where bacteria and viruses evolve and no longer respond to medicines, creating a massive health risk. “At this UNEA, however, there has been more regression than ever,” she said.

This breakdown reveals that the voluntary model of international cooperation is incapable of managing a planet in crisis as it consistently prioritises national sovereignty and extractive economic interests over collective ecological stability. One of the primary structural flaws is the “consensus trap,” where the requirement for near-unanimous agreement allows veto to a single powerful nation or a small bloc of fossil-fuel-dependent states. To effectively address the climate crisis, the world needs a shift from “soft law” to “hard law,” characterised by legally binding enforcement mechanisms and independent monitoring bodies capable of prosecuting environmental crimes. Moreover, there is a pressing need to redefine international law to prioritise the global commons, such as the atmosphere and oceans, over the traditional concept of absolute national sovereignty, which currently allows states to destroy shared resources for short-term profit.

Until the global political economy is restructured to integrate direct financing for vulnerable nations like Pakistan and provide groups like the Farmers’ Major Group with actual decision-making power, international assemblies will continue to be stages where crises are acknowledged but never truly resolved.

The writer is a freelance climate journalist based in Lahore

Source: https://www.thenews.pk/tns/detail/1387934-the-changing-landscape-of-climate-governance

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

June 27, 2025

As a Pakistani, I have borne daily witness to relentless exploitation by Western imperialism. The lives of Pakistani workers and farmers, like those of millions across Asia, Africa, and Latin America, are defined by misery, hunger, landlessness, under-employment and untreated illness by imperialist design.

Imperialist powers, led by the U.S., have ensured that our nations remain shackled to debt, dependency, and violence. And now, as NATO extends its tentacles into the Asia-Pacific under the guise of “security,” we must recognize this for what it is: a recolonization project, dressed in the language of “democracy” and “stability”.

US-NATO has spent decades plundering our lands, propping up puppet regimes, and waging wars—both hot and cold—to maintain their stranglehold over our resources and our futures. NATO’s 2030 initiative seeks to dramatically expand the alliance’s global reach while designating both Russia and China as existential threats. The plan calls for deepening military ties with US states far beyond the north Atlantic, from Colombia to Kuwait, militarizing space, maintaining aggressive forward deployment of forces, expanding nuclear capabilities, and conducting increasingly provocative war games in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Iran-Israel conflict, the genocide in Palestine, the military buildup in the South China Sea, the US troop deployments in the Philippines, and the NATO summit itself are all part of a coordinated imperialist strategy led by the United States and its allies to crush liberation movements and preserve a dying global order.

From the beginning, the U.S. orchestrated this war, arming “Israel” to the teeth, green-lighting its attacks, and intervening when it found a smokescreen to finally launch a direct aggression on Iran. The US is repeating the same move that it made in 2003 when it falsely claimed that Iraq was developing nuclear weapons. What followed was a brutal US invasion and occupation that tore the country apart, killed close to one million people, devastated the infrastructure including hospitals and schools, and has left the country’s people in political chaos and dependency to US oil and development companies to this day. The US wants to see Iran and its people suffer the same fate.

But as with Iraq, the US has committed an act that will drag it further down in its own spiraling collapse. The US under Trump is mired in a deep political and economic crisis from being overstretched and engaged in endless wars. This attack on Iran exacerbates the crisis, as the US will pour even more money into waging war, either directly or by continuing to arm Zionist “Israel” to do its bidding.

This brings us to NATO’s expansion and influence in the Asia Pacific. In 2011, Hillary Clinton, then U.S. Secretary of State, openly declared the Obama administration’s “pivot to Asia,” framing it as an embrace of the region’s “strategic importance.” But we know what “strategic importance” really means: domination. The U.S. does not engage with the Asia-Pacific as equals; it seeks to control it. The so-called “Indo-Pacific Strategy” is nothing but a blueprint for militarization and resource extraction.

The very term “Indo-Pacific” is a calculated insult. It binds together two fascist allies—the U.S. and India—under the banner of containing China. India, a state that massacres its own people in Kashmir and brutalizes indigenous communities in mineral-rich regions, is now Washington’s favorite enforcer in the region. Meanwhile, the U.S. demands that North Korea denuclearize while it stockpiles thousands of warheads and has conducted 192 nuclear tests in the Pacific alone. The hypocrisy is staggering.

France, a self-proclaimed “Pacific nation,” has no business in our waters, yet it maintains a permanent presence in colonial military outposts like New Caledonia and French Polynesia, and wages war games in Asia Pacific like RIMPAC in Hawai’i, Balikatan in the Philippines and La Pérouse across 9 pacific nations. The U.S., for its part, has turned the Pacific into an armed camp, with installations from Okinawa, to the Philippines, to Guahan, to Palau, to Diego Garcia. This is evidence that NATO has no interest in defence, but represents a bloody marriage between the US and European imperialists and the puppet governments of countries in the Asia Pacific, doing the bidding of the West.

Last year, NATO took its most brazen step yet: the formal inclusion of the “Indo-Pacific Four” (Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea) into its summit. It was the culmination of years of creeping militarization, now codified in the 2024 Washington Declaration, which explicitly labeled China as an “enabler” of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

This is not diplomacy, it is a declaration of war against national liberation movements and anti-imperialist nations.

Of the three major conflict fronts in the world today, two are in the Asia-Pacific: the U.S.-China cold war and the genocide in Palestine and assault of the US on the sovereign nation of Iran. And yet, Western leaders speak of “stability” while fueling arms races and backing apartheid regimes.

US-NATO’s expansion is about plunder of our resources, especially minerals. In 2023, NATO publicly identified 12 critical minerals essential for its war machine. Who controls these minerals? Not the West. China produces 69% of the world’s graphite; bauxite, the main mineral used in aluminum metal production, is concentrated in Australia, China, and India.

This is why indigenous lands in India are being seized. This is why Adivasi communities and Maoist rebels are slaughtered—not because they are “terrorists,” but because they stand in the way of corporate theft. The same logic applies to deep-sea mining, the next frontier of ecological destruction. The Pacific Ocean, already scarred by nuclear testing, is now being carved up for its mineral wealth. The U.S. will drown entire ecosystems in pursuit of profit.

The need for global resistance

The cracks within NATO—over Ukraine, over Israel—are real, but they will not dismantle imperialism on their own. The people must force them open. We have seen glimpses of this power: the millions who marched against the Iraq War, the workers’ strikes in India, the Palestinian resistance that refuses to die. But posters and protests alone will not save us.

We must organize and we must fight, linking arm-in-arm with oppressed and exploited people around the world. The colonizers will not relinquish power willingly. If history has taught us anything, it is that empires only fall when they are broken by the masses.

The choice is ours: Submit to a new century of colonial horror, or rise up and reclaim our future. The time for resistance is now.

Azra Sayeed, Secretary General of the International League of Peoples’ Struggle, is convenor of the Resist NATO Coalition.

Source: https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/06/27/natos-expansion-and-why-people-of-the-global-south-must-resist/

For the past several years, Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek (PKMT), in collaboration with other peasant and anti-imperialist movements, the Roots for Equity, Asian Peasant Coalition (APC), People’s Coalition on Food Sovereignty (PCFS), Pesticide Action Network Asia Pacific (PAN AP), and the International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS), has been celebrating March 29th as the International Day of Landless People. The aim of commemorating this day is to highlight the struggles of small and landless peasants for food sovereignty and genuine agrarian reforms worldwide. It also includes exposing the oppression, coercion, and exploitation by multinational corporations and the imperialist countries representing them, as well as the governments of Third World countries.

Currently, the world, especially Pakistan, is in the grip of a severe economic and environmental crisis. Millions of people, especially the working class, are suffering from extreme poverty, unemployment, and hunger. Even in such a dire conditions, imperialist countries, especially the United States continue to worsen the situation through institutions such as the IMF, World Bank, and WTO. At the same time, they are pushing the situation further downwards. Simultaneously, they are engaged in environmental destruction, looting, and occupying land, water, oceans, forests, minerals, and other natural resources through war and militarization. The Zionist Israel’s genocide of Palestinian people and occupation of Palestinian land at the behest of the U.S. is one such example.

The people of Pakistan, particularly rural communities, are victims of these conditions. In Mansehra and other districts, local populations are being denied access to forests. In Peshawar, land is being taken from local communities under the guise of development projects. In the name of “Green Initiatives,” thousands of acres of land in Punjab and Sindh have been allocated for corporate agriculture. The path has already been paved for multinational corporations to take over the dairy and livestock sector, which includes banning open and fresh milk and promoting companies’ packaged milk. Additionally, genetically modified seeds are being promoted, which guarantee huge profits for seed giant companies. Similarly, huge corporations like PepsiCo have been given thousands of acres of land to produce potatoes, displacing small and landless farmers who are now forced to work as low-wage laborers. The potato seed on this land is owned by the corporation itself.

The digitalization of the food system, exemplified by the “Kissan Card”, represents a dangerous shift toward free market policies, allowing not only agrochemical corporations but also to financial and IT corporations to take over agriculture production.

The increase in sugarcane production is a serious concern since it has pushed landless peasants into the throes of severe hunger and poverty. It also been used for agro-fuel production as a false solution to climate change.  Due to the cultivation of sugarcane, important food crops like wheat are being greatly affected. The profit driven motives of corporations and imperialist agents are fully supported by the feudal class of the country.

The people, already struggling for survival, and now the ruling elite has announced the construction of six new canals from the Indus River. The province of Sindh, especially Lower Sindh, is already a victim of un-just water distribution; the construction of the newly announced canal will further aggravate the situation, leading to large-scale protests against it.

Another grim development for the people suffering from hunger and landlessness is the federal government’s decision to abolish the minimum support price of wheat for 2024-2025 under the IMF conditionality. This policy will be devastating for small and landless farmers. Many farmers argue that even the previous year’s support prices set by the government were insufficient to cover their cost of production, but now handing over the price determination to the free market will break their backs. Turning a blind eye to these extremely negative impacts on millions of farmers is another ruthless policy.

It is evident that the government is implementing neo-liberal policies instead of protecting the interests of farmers, especially small and landless farmers, agricultural workers, fisherfolk, rural women, youth, and children. This has resulted in mass destruction of the working class.

PKMT remains firmly committed to fight for the rights of small and landless peasants and the working class. We will continue the struggle for food sovereignty, advocating for just and equitable distribution of land while ensuring the right to save and plant local and indigenous seeds, rejecting corporate control in food and agriculture. We stand in solidarity with the working class and will expose feudal, capitalist, and corporate land grab while promoting systems that empower local communities to control and manage land, forests, mountains, seas, and other natural resources.

Release by: Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek (PKMT)

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

The month is marked by many critical happenings pertaining to political economy of agriculture. The issue of wheat importation as well as lack of wheat procurement from farmers, which had also been discussed in the previous issue, deserves further attention.

Many aspects of the wheat fiasco are worth highlighting. First, that the shortfall in the amount of wheat needed for the country’s consumption need not have been addressed through private sector importing wheat. According to data released, 2.45 million-ton of wheat shortage was expected for the 2023-24 period; however, an excess of 1.162 million tons of wheat was imported in FY24. The government prices of wheat in the market were higher and the private sector was selling at a lower price. Reports point to the Punjab government that had knowingly kept wheat release rate higher than the private sector, due to which flour mills preferred to purchase Ukrainian wheat imported by the private sector. According to the Pakistan Kisan Itehad, based on lower prices of imported wheat, the local wheat prices fell to PKR 2,800-3,000 per 40kg against the government rate of PKR 3,900.

The question is even if internationally wheat prices were lower, the state is responsible for shielding farmers’ livelihood. If wheat crop is not protected from the private sector, it will have a devastating impact on farmers income, as well as grave consequences in terms of ensuring country’s food security.

There are a total of 65 wheat importers in the country (of which 17 are flour mills who also import wheat), with Louis Dreyfus and United Resources Corporation, being the two major importers. The Plant Protection Agency had issued about 1,000 permits to wheat importers. The role of the caretaker government, and their collusion with the private sector in importing wheat has been highlighted.

Apart from the import of wheat worth PKR330 billion (of which 1.3 million metric tons was reported to be infected), there is also further collaboration of the government with the market actors, where PASSCO officials are being accused of selling the bardana (gunny bags) to traders, politicians and middlemen, allowing them to gain profit by procuring wheat at the subsidized rates set for farmers.

In the coming years, there seem to be clear developments for further strengthening of the private sector. According to news reports, the Punjab food department has decided to withdraw from its practice of wheat procurement, and it will become a law bringing an end to the food department’s role in wheat procurement. Further, according to the new policy the private sector will purchase wheat crop from farmers, directly; the government will fix wheat prices based on international prices of the commodity.

Another pertinent issue with respect to wheat production and country’s food security includes the rapid urbanization that is occurring based on ‘flagrant violations of the law’ in acquiring agricultural land. According to a report by Advocate General Punjab Khalid Ishaq, “Pakistan was a leading South Asian exporter of wheat. This trend has reversed in recent years, and it is reported that Pakistan (government and private sector combined) imported wheat amounting to USD 1 billion during July-March for FY2024.” The loss of agricultural land coupled with consistent damage and destruction of agriculture production due to climate crisis, is bound to increase food insecurity in the country.

Humanitarians?

The World Wide Fund (WWF) and Laudes Foundation have launched the ‘Regenerative Production Landscape Collaborative Pakistan’ initiative. The aim is to ‘revolutionize farming practices,’ and business models to address challenges faced by small farmers, especially women. Apart from increasing women’s income, the project will also be a implementing process that can overcome environmental degradation.

Anita Chester, Head of the Fashion Programme at Laudes Foundation has emphasized the “the initiative’s significant scale, spanning over a million hectares globally and benefiting hundreds of thousands of farmers, with specific plans to cover over 100,000 hectares and assist more than 50,000 farmers in Pakistan alone.”

Laudes Foundation is run by Brenninkmeijer, a European business family. According to an article in the Forbes business magazine, the Dutch retailer C&A Brenninkmeijer is considered one of the most secretive companies in the world. It has a sprawling business with 2,005 stores in 23 countries including the Americas and Asia.

One can only be skeptical of mega-corporations in investing in Pakistan, under the guise of overcoming environmental degradation as well as guarding interests of women workers; it is unfortunate that the plight of women in Pakistan is frequently used to launch projects that are meant for profit rather than promoting and protecting women’s rights. The profit-seeking interest of corporations is well known, and without any doubt, they are major actors responsible for the immense destruction of the planet, and carbon emissions that are responsible for the debilitating climate crisis.

The US AID has been putting funds into clean energy solutions. The Investment Roadshow is aimed to promote private sector investment for sustainable and clean energy solutions. It is noteworthy that at another USAID workshop, the dairy methane emission reduction, the US Ambassador remarked on Pakistan being home to ‘one of the largest livestock populations in the world,’ and hence its role in bringing down carbon emissions. It is indeed quite a brazen statement, given that the US total emissions in 2021 were 13.49%, whereas Pakistan’s total emissions are just 0.9%. Livestock is a key contributor to not only national wealth, but also a source of livelihood to millions of rural households, not to mention its contribution to food and nutrition to all citizens of the country. It is such interventions that raise concerns about the well wishes of those investing in the country.

One should also mention that the European Union has also launched two flagship programs for skills development and clean energy in Gilgit-Baltistan. It is indeed remarkable that highly industrialized capitalist regions, who are not only responsible currently but through centuries of dangerous carbon emissions, are so focused on promoting ‘clean energy solutions’ in our country. The impact of climate crisis has continued to be devastating for Pakistan’s economy as well as its people: the heatwave in Sindh has been devastating with temperatures as high as 44- 51°C. In Khyber Pakhtunkwa, school hours were reduced to deal with the heat wave, while people suffering from it flocked to the hospitals.

The Unholy Mantras – privatization, digitalization, liberalization

Pakistan’s development model seems to have certain constants of which of course trade liberalization and privatization are constant themes.

It is being stated that the government plans to privatise all state-owned enterprises (SOEs), except strategic entities. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, at a high-level meeting has stated that “the government would privatize all state-owned enterprises, excluding the strategic ones, regardless of their profitability or financial losses.”

Privatization and foreign direct investment seem to be top priorities at the moment. Since the launch of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) last year, the Council’s name has cropped up frequently with respect to a number of trade liberalization and investment ventures. The Green Pakistan Initiative projects promoting private and public partnerships (PPP), include tourism, agriculture and livestock. Development of Keenjher Lake, Haleji Lake, Hawks Bay and Gorakh Hill Resorts into tourist spots are on the books.

In addition, the Government of Sindh is also discussing the establishment of shrimp farms/hatcheries as well as outsourcing of provincial government’s cattle farms in Rohri, Umerkot and Naukot.

The objectives of private sector investment include improving cattle breeds for milk and meat. International corporations are eager to take over the dairy and meat sector in the country. It is unfortunate that help is being extended to them for this corporate capture. The University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) Lahore has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Nestle Pakistan Limited for research collaboration in product innovation, reproductive biotechnology to improve dairy farms economics, livestock health & dairy animal breeding. Apart from losing indigenous breeds among livestock, the country also faces loss of much needed foreign exchange, as repatriation of profit and dividend by foreign investors has been reported to grow by 250 percent. According to the State Bank of Pakistan, foreign investors have repatriated some $887 million on account of profit and dividend during July-April of FY24 compared to $253.4 million in the same period.

The SIFC apex committee is also assuring Chinese investors for providing facilitation for investment in the mining sector. Other areas that are to be prioritized for investment include minerals, and information technology (IT). In Balochistan, a Free Zone Agriculture Industrial Park in Gwadar has been inaugurated.

In Punjab, with the help of the World Bank, digitalization of land records in Punjab are being undertaken. It seems that development is now hinged to digitalization, which is persistently emphasized in agriculture. 

Apart from the Chinese other delegations that are being entertained include those from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Japan, Azerbaijan, Qatar, and other countries.

A delegation from Saudi Arabia came on a visit to enh­ance trade ties between investors from both countries and identify trade and investment opportunities across various sectors of national economy. According to the Ministry of Commerce, “leading” Pakistani companies would collaborate with at least 30 Saudi companies across different sectors, including agriculture, mining, human resource, energy, chemicals, and maritime. Discussions were also to be held on other sectors such as IT, religious tourism, telecom, aviation, construction, water and power generation.

The fact that foreign direct investment (FDI) rose 8.1percent to $1.458 billion during July-April FY24 compared to $1.349 billion in the same period last fiscal year, is testament to the government’s preliminary success in attracting foreign investors. The biggest investor was China, with FDI at $439.3 million as compared to $604 million in the same period last year. Another important inflow was from Hong Kong, where FDI increased to $297.9 million compared to $206 million in the same period last year. Inflows from the UK and the USA were $219 million and $216 million, respectively, both of which showed an increase from last year.

Apart from attracting foreign investment to Pakistan, other schemes that provide ease of access to modern information technologies are also being floated. Kisan Card schemes have been launched in previous years; recently the IT Ministry launched the ‘CropWise Grower’ application for farmers. It should be noted that the application belongs to Syngenta, now a part of the Chinee chemical giant Sinochem, a Chinese state-owned corporation. It should be noticed that CropWise uses artificial intelligence (AI) providing image-based problem diagnosis, as well as information for all its nearest stores (called Naya Savera) selling Syngenta products. A new scheme for Kisan Card, as well as the Benazir Hari Card in Sindh are also to be launched in the coming months.

In addition, the Habib Bank Limited has also entered a partnership with Agrilift, a Pakistani company that was formed in 2021. Agrilift, according to its company information, is an AI-based platform offering crop monitoring technology. Other such enterprises include the “Bakhabar Kisan.”

Feudalism for the poor, Capitalism for the rich

On one hand, capitalist policies are being thrust across the entire production landscape, especially in agriculture, but on the other hand feudal as well as colonial policies and practices remain for controlling the vast rural population, ensuring that they remain oppressed and exploited. According to Human Rights Watch, the colonial-era Land Acquisition Act is used often to evict ‘low-income groups;’ the 1894 law is used for public land acquisition, which is then often used by government authorities for public-private partnerships, and even for private corporations. It is clear, that while new laws and policies facilitating investors and corporations are enacted regularly and rapidly, colonial laws, especially those guarding land rights of the powerful feudal forces have remained untouched, even after more than 70 years of so-called independence from British colonizers, and are used forcefully against the marginalized oppressed classes.

There is a report of an agricultural worker tortured to death by a landlord. In Pakistan, more than often criminal acts of landlords and those in power often remain outside the reach of law enforcement. The fact that land disputes remain a regular feature in our rural areas highlights the fact that feudalism remains a key feature of Pakistan’s political economy.

After all of the above endeavors of the government to carry out privatization and trade liberalization, the final impact can only be measured based on the socio-economic conditions of the people. According to a research study, conducted by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), the poverty rate in Pakistan over the past five years has increased from 38.6 percent to 39.5 percent. National poverty rate has reached 39.5% while in Balochistan it is 70 percent, in KP 48 percent, in Sindh at 45 percent, and in Punjab poverty rate stands at 30 percent. The report revealed that rural areas have recorded higher poverty rates than urban areas across the country, as the poverty rate in rural areas was recorded at 51%, whereas, in urban areas 17 percent.

These abysmal figures are the crux of the matter. Only when the country’s working class, its peasantry is able to reap the benefits of economic policies can it be said that the government has made people-centered decisions and policies, ridding the country of hunger, malnourishment and grinding poverty.

In 2023, according to the State of Food Security and Nutrition, World Report 2024 released by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN, an estimated 28.9 percent of the global population that is, 2.33 billion people were moderately or severely food insecure. This include 10.7 percent of the population – 864 million people who faced severe levels of food insecurity.

The crippling situation has not been created in just a day – it is the consistent promotion of imperialist neoliberal policies that have pushed for trade liberalization in food and agriculture, not to mention the killer conditionalities coerced by the IMF standby agreements in many parts of the world.

A significant growth, 16.8 percent has been reported in the production of wheat, cotton, and rice crops, and the sector improved its share in gross domestic production; agricultural sector growth of 6.3 percent was the highest in 19 years. The government of Pakistan continues to earn huge foreign exchange reserves, all through the back-breaking labor of peasants, a vast majority of whom include landless farmers, including women. However, it is indeed shameful that poverty rate in Pakistan has increased from 38.6 percent to 39.5 percent over the last five years, with food prices sky high, making basic food items to be beyond the reach of the poverty-stricken masses.

While the peasantry, and the urban poor face hunger and malnutrition, the government guards the interest of traders and investors such that it continues to import wheat grains from abroad, while pushing prices down for local wheat, pushing small and landless farmers in debt and bondage, left to face hunger and misery.

With more than 24 standby agreements with the IMF, the nation’s debt keeps soaring; it has increased by around Rs. 4.64 trillion in the past months. While the people of Pakistan suffer from monstrous policies protecting the imperialist and local elites, the scenario is no different in other part of the world.

The ongoing imperialist wars of aggression in occupied Palestine for the past 12 months has now spread to Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and is fast marching toward Iran. The destruction of agricultural land in the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank knows no bounds; 70% of agricultural land being wasted through direct bombing and toxic chemicals; farmers are killed persecuted and their means of production such as water wells, trees including centuries old olive trees are deliberately destroyed; fisher folk are forbidden access to the seas. All this is part of the genocide happening in Occupied Palestine, and has been part and parcel of the US-led Zionist fascist regime for more than 7 decades.

The unchecked carbon emissions from our colonizers over many centuries has given rise to climate crisis. Globally, and particularly in Pakistan, it is starkly evident that climate change has vastly negative impact on food security especially for rural communities and a variety of climate change impacts such as floods, droughts, and hurricanes.

The solution lies in not putting the country up for sale and taking dictation from international financial institution like IMF, but for building self-reliance in food and agriculture and national industry. It is critical at this juncture that we adopt food sovereignty as the base for our food and agriculture policy; making the voice and decision making of small and landless farmers, especially women in policy development and implementing, making just and equitable land distribution a priority can help the country to break the shackle of debt and pauperization, and also help in establishing a national industry, prosperity and food security.

Release by: Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek (PKMT)

The country is going through a period of dismal debt and economic crisis that is further worsened by the climate crisis. Government policies do not necessarily help in alleviating the dire situation. While the government had been expecting a bumper wheat crop, and directives were given for ‘good price’ for the farmers, and ensure availability of the staple crop in the market, the final result can be considered anything but successful. While the crop itself was damaged due to heavy rains in parts of Pakistan, there were bureaucratic delays in setting procurement centers in various points in Sindh, resulting in farmers selling their produce at PKR 3,500/40kg, which was much less than the government procurement price of PKR 4,000/40kg. According to another report, the procurement price set by Sindh government was at PKR 4,600/40kg.

In Punjab, farmers also voiced their dissatisfaction with the support price set by the Punjab government at PKR 3,900/40kg, which was the same as last year. According to news reports, millers and stock buyers were offering PKR 2,800/40kg as compared to the official support price of PKR 3,900/40kg.

Rich farmers’ representatives like the Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB), have rejected the price set by the Sindh government. The economic and debt crisis has led to huge price increase for agriculture inputs including chemical fertilizers, petrol and diesel, and even though with a good bumper crop, farmers suffered losses due to traders’ monopoly. Farmers in Punjab, as well as the Pakistan Business Forum also critiqued the high input prices, while also pointing out the possibility of wheat smuggling by hoarders and smugglers. Sindh Abadgar Itehad (SAI) has also accused the agriculture extension department of corruption having ‘stomached’ PKR 4 billion that had been earmarked for flood impacted farmers in 2022, and has demanded a ‘high-profile inquiry’ for misuse of public funds. Allegations against corporations have been levied for charging over-market prices for fertilizer. These allegations do have credence as an inquiry by the Com­p­­etition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has revealed that the fertilizer sector secured a whopping subsidy on gas to the tune of Rs152 billion but never passed the benefits on to the consumers.

In addition, the supply of bardana has been curtailed and hence farmers were unable to sell wheat at government set support price. What is to come in future is clear from Balochistan government’s announment that starting from next year, it will not provide bardana to the farmers but support them to buy the bags from the market. Such measures leaves farmers wide open to market shocks, a market that is monopolized by the rich and the powerful.

Before wheat harvest had started, government had allowed the private sector to import about 3.2 million tons of wheat. Unlike the farmers, millers were happy with the government’s policy allowing wheat import by the private sector, as according to them, it has given them freedom from ‘Sindh government’s blackmailing practices.’ Whether, these allegations are true or not, there is no disputing the fact that the bulk of small farmers have suffered hugely through increased agriculture input prices as well as lack of government support in selling their harvest, and falling wheat grain prices in the market; all of these factors have combined in pushing them further into debt and increased hunger, especially landless farmers and the urban poor.

Apart from the wheat fiasco, there is general crisis in the agriculture sector. The agriculture growth target of 3.5 percent set for 2023-24, is in doldrums due to ongoing rains impacting major crops including wheat. Other Rabi crops such as mustard and canola, and gram have also suffered, though sugarcane is expected to benefit. On one hand, there is high input cost, while on the other hand, the commodity prices for major crops such as wheat, cotton and maize have dropped by 25%. The protests by the farming community seem to have been heard, but really to no avail. The final conclusion by political big wigs was that the caretaker government was at fault, as it had allowed for the import of wheat in the first place.

One can point out the fact that it is the elected government that has increased gas prices causing an increase of urea price by around PKR 1,000/bag. This step is going to impact cotton yield, as famers will not be in a position to cultivate the cotton crop to the capacity required. It is being reported that the outlook for the upcoming cotton crop is not very promising due to difficult weather conditions, irrigation water scarcity, and the sky rocketing prices for agricultural inputs. Cotton contributes more than 60 percent to the total national exports, and ultimately this further hike in production cost will result in lower cotton yields impacting industrial production.

An interesting editorial in DAWN points out the fallacy of allowing support provided to farmers on wheat production, as it diverts farmers attention from value added crops to wheat; instead of providing support to farmers on wheat production, there should be complete deregulation of the wheat economy and linking it to the global grain market.

Such policy emphasis of course comes from those who support monopoly capital, and are heedless to escalating food prices which leaves millions suffering from hunger and grinding poverty. Actors pursuing neoliberalism and free market ideology are also not bothered about the millions of small and landless farmers who have played a pivotal role in wheat production, but are unable to buy the grain for their households. It should be noted that raw food exports that continued to expand in March, with a 16.35 percent increase to $685.03 million, up from $588.76m in the same month last year, has led to high food prices for local population.

Might is Right!

For many decades now, there has been unabating pressure from international financial institutions to adopt neoliberal policies for economic growth, including in the agriculture sector. From digital agricultural loans to farmers through organizations like Karandaaz (a non-profit receiving funds from Melinda & Bill Gates, that promotes digitalization of financial services including digitalization of the tax system), to modern agriculture warehousing through Electronic Warehousing Receipt (EWR) financing, all measures that allows agricultural commodities to be traded nationally and internationally. Digital marketing is in essence for the richest segment of farmers in the agriculture economy, and marginalizes the small and landless farmers.

In the same vein, there is continued push for enabling environment for private sector investment in aquaculture value chains for national and international markets. VC Dr. Dr. Iqrar Ahmad, Vice Chair Faisalabad Agriculture University has also urged the private sector to invest in high-efficiency irrigation.

Trade liberalization in agricultural production continues, allowing corporate farming and joint ventures with other countries. According to Saudi Arabia, Saudi agriculture corporations are interested in joint ventures for improving value chains in the agriculture sector, with a lofty vision of Pakistan becoming a ‘bread basket for the kingdom’ as well as for the entire region.

Pakistan and Iran are also bolstering their trade relationship, with annual trade volume to be increased to $10 billion. The relationship has been stagnating under the impact of geopolitics directed by trade sanctions by the US on Iran. While, Pakistan is on a path to increasing trade with Iran, US and Pakistan have renewed a key framework to promote bilateral trade, the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA).

It is indeed interesting that though free market economy seems to be the bible for international trade forcefully thrust by US and other G7 economies, but when it comes to trading with Iran, a different beat is heard. Pakistan and Iran’s bilateral trade plans, especially in context to “setting up of joint border markets, economic free zones, and new border openings”, is raising hackles in certain quarters, The US Department of State has been warning Pakistan about trade with Iran, to the extent of sanctions that are designed for putting an end to political and economic relations with Iran. Hence a ‘free market economy’ is not really a free market economy, but hinged on dictates of those in power. No doubt, the idiom ‘might is right,’ is based on such show of political and military strength, often used by imperialist forces.

It is noteworthy that Pak­istan’s merchandise ex­­ports to United States has come down by 10.14 percent to $3.63 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year from $4.04 billion over the corresponding period last year. At the same time, Pakistan’s exports to China increased by 42 percent; it has increased to $1.895 billion in July-February FY24 from $1.334 billion over the corresponding period last year.

According to Punjab Livestock Secretary, Masaud Anwar, Pakistan has come to terms with China for exporting dairy products to China through a state-of-the-art farm developed in Sheikhupura.

In short, there is a continued shift in Pakistan’s trade pattern, where it is now trading more and more within the region; whether this trend will continue in the long term is yet to be determined.

At the same time, the role of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) in attracting investors to Pakistan remains central. Investors from UAE, Saudi Arabia continue to be in dialogue with Ministry for Finance and Revenue. At the same time, there is also invitation to Australia and France for investing in the country.

Climate Imperialism?

There is no doubt that Pakistan is facing diabolical damages based on climate change. Though the government bureaucracy is accepting the fact, and at least making speeches for addressing the issue, the context of putting the blame for this havoc on western industrialized nations carbon emissions seems to be lacking. According to the Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, climate change impact was emerging in shape of water scarcity and could be addressed through introducing new cropping patterns that includes low delta crops aimed at reducing water consumption and increasing efficiency in agriculture. Mitigations could also be carried out by introducing agricultural water conservation practices that could also include drip irrigation, sprinkle system, dry farming, conservation tillage and other methods.

Given the extreme dearth of water resources in the country, it is worth pointing out that Coca-Cola, a corporation that faces not only boycott but is also responsible for using up extensive water reserves has invested $22 million in the beverage sector, specifically in technology upgrade, capacity enhancement of its export potential, and employment for over half a million local professionals along its chain.

In the end, the focus is on imported technology, and promotion of the same model of industrial development which is responsible for the catastrophic climate crisis. Our policy makers are blind to the rich source of local and indigenous knowledge embedded in our communities; the fact that the immense wealth generated by the agriculture sector is hinged on the immensely powerful productive force of small and landless farmers is totally ignored.

At the same time, the failure of government bureaucracy is abysmal. For instance, the Sindh Chief Secretary has acknowledged before the Sindh High Court that the timelines for implementation of Supreme Court-appointed water commission could not be met. There were still 769 points from where different departments had been releasing waste into freshwater bodies. Such negligence in context to water sources is criminal lack of accountability seems to be the order of the day.

After decades of pursuing a free-market economy the economic strength of the country, and social condition of the Pakistani population, especially rural communities, the low-income urban masses continues to deteriorate. There is no doubt that the austere economic policies dictated by the international financial organizations are for the benefit of corporations and investors, not for the people. What is the way out is a question which need to be asked and answers sought.