SECRETARY GENERAL OF COMMUNIST PARTY OF PAKISTAN COMRADE IMDAD QAZI's INTERVENTION AT 22nd COMMUNIST AND WORKERS PARTIES' MEETING HAVANA, CUBA. 

Dear Comrades, 

The 22nd International Communist and Workers' Parties Meeting at Havana, Cuba offers us this valuable opportunity to express our solidarity with our Comrades and the brave people of Cuba. We present our Red Salute to Comrade Fidel Castro, Comrade Che Guevara and Comrade Raul Castro on, bringing the Revolution of 1959, their consistent anti-imperialist struggle and their role in the international Communist movements. We condemn the unjust and inhumane embargo of the US Imperialism on Cuba. On this forum we put forward this demand that the economic blockade on Cuba be ended. We have continuously been raising our voice against these sanctions and as such condemning them through party resolutions, pressers and other modes of media to show our solidarity with Cuban people and their revolutionary Government. 

We also express our sorrow and solidarity with Cuban government and its people on the damages suffered by them on account of disastrous hurricane that happened in the recent past. 

We had extended our thanks and gratitude to the Cuban government and its people for providing selfless assistance, especially in the medical field by the Cuban doctors that was indeed unparalleled. Today, being present here it will be befitting to take advantage of this forum to once again thank the doctors who came all the way to Pakistan in time of the greatest ever tragedy of the country to save the precious lives of those struck by deadly earthquake in 2005. We would like to thank the Cuban government for the scholarships that were granted by the Cuban government for Pakistani medical students.  As if it was not enough, the revolutionary government of Cuba obliged Pakistani people and won their hearts and minds once again when it condemned the statement of the US president   regarding security of Pakistani nukes. I thank you on behalf of our party and Pakistani people for this bold stance of the Cuban government. 

The steady and persistent struggle of the Cuban people and their government against imperialism and their radical role in the Communist movements has been always a great source of inspiration for the Communist Party of Pakistan. But Pakistani people have too been in general highly impressed with the role of Cuba that it plays in the current international politico economic scenario. It has really accorded a great impetus to our party.

Comrades! 

The modern day world is tremendously bearing the consequences of the policies of neo-liberalism. The increase in production has been mind boggling of course but it is also without any doubt that joblessness around the world has touched unprecedented levels. Poverty has obtained epic proportions while multinational and transnational companies have been increasing their profits with each passing day. They are making millions of dollars in a matter of moment which has led to the accumulation of wealth in few hands creating yawning gap between classes. 

Pakistan has become a client state of the imperialists. The de facto rulers of the country are those business running generals who use the army as a mercenary force in proxy wars.  They train jihadis proxies to fight imperialist wars. Thus the jihad business has been very easy source of income for these generals to make millions of dollars. This state of affairs has been continuing for over last forty years.  

Power-sharing decisions are made in Washington and get implemented through military establishment in Pakistan. The former government had been installed under their agenda and the incumbent coalition government too has been brought to power to forward their policies and designs. The execution of imperialistic policies is effected by the capitalists and the owners of bureaucratic capital either by becoming the managers or active partners. Currently, the economy of Pakistan in toto has been surrendered to the IMF. This imperialist organization has taken upon itself to enforce in letter and spirit the policies enacted by imperialists. Subsidies are almost none. The tax net has been extended in such a way that the availability of amenities of life has become out of reach of the common man and working class. Food items are hard for people to buy. New taxes are introduced with each passing day. Such a tax system has been put in place that ensures the direct taxes to shrink while indirect taxes have to grow exorbitantly in size. Resultantly, food items and other commodities like life-saving drugs are difficult to get. Things have come to such a pass that people are made to gasp for oxygen otherwise available free in nature. As you know that industrially development countries are responsible for the atmospheric and water pollution which is causing irreparable damage to environment that has resulted in global warming and natural disasters. Pakistan is one of worst affected countries due to environmental pollution. Pakistan faced unusual visitation of rains in 2022 that has rendered 40 percent part of Pakistan badly hit by deadly floods. About 5000 people lost their lives, hundreds of thousands of livestock were washed away in floods and standing crops of worth billions were destroyed completely. Mud compounds in the flood-hit areas have been leveled to the ground. Even concrete buildings are not worth living anymore. According to the estimate of international organizations Pakistan has suffered losses touching over thirty billion dollars. Rain water has not been drained as yet that has given birth to multiple endemic diseases like malaria, typhoid and skin ailments. Standing cesspools of water on agricultural land has reduced chances of cultivation afresh. That has certainly raised apprehension of large-scale food crisis. The country has been engulfed by a human tragedy that will surely intensify in the times ahead. To make the matter worse, the ruling elite of the country has actively been busy to capitalize on this and plunder the poor masses mercilessly.

Dear Comrades! 

These inexorable conditions leave no option for the masses other than to get organized under revolutionary forces to knock out ruling elites from the power corridors. But the imperialists and the capitalists in Pakistan are putting obstacles in the way towards the organization and unity of laborers and workers that has dealt a blow to the unity and discipline of the workers in industrial units and entities. Automation and robotization in industries have caused the strength of workers to be reduced. Services sector is being expanded but that too suffers from gig economy under which there are no fixed working hours and system of secure pay and pension. Social security has been abolished. The workers have to work more than 20 hours or put on alert to be called for assuming work to survive inflation.  To distract the attention of working class and masses from this exploitative situation religious sentiments and sectarianism are flared up. Class conflict and contradiction have been replaced with religious differences and dissention. They are being indoctrinated with the spiritual dogmas of resignation and contentment to hurl them in perpetual misery and deprivation that will be converted into eternal bliss and happiness in hereafter. Religious and sectarian thoughts and ideologies have been drilled into minds of those who live in huts and shacks to take such mode of living as their destiny. Religious card is played well in time of elections to get desirable results. This state of affairs has not only badly harmed the leftist parties but it has also worked against other secular democratic forces. Extremism has spread like a wild fire without any let. Thousands of people have fallen prey to the religious terrorism.  It has pushed political culture of Pakistan towards conservatism. All this is being promoted and nourished by the state as the country owes its existence to religious ideology. All opposition to this ideology is brutally crushed as the ruling class wants to perpetually keep the country as a security state so that the security establishment is strengthened and so get the lion's share of the budget. Not only Pakistan and India have been involved in this rat race but it has engulfed a number of Asian and African countries as well.

Dear Comrades! 

The Imperialists have created war hysteria by playing on ethnic and nationalistic differences and contradictions. The imperialist power centers are fighting proxy wars to expand their sphere of influence and exploitation and become super imperialist. Wars are prosecuted to build a new world order the fresh example of which we see in shape of Russia-Ukraine war.  The war theatre is currently Ukrainian land but the Russian and Ukrainian peoples are paying its price in form of heavy taxes alike.  The brunt of the belligerent policies of the trigger-happy rulers is borne equally by Ukrainian public especially children, women and elderly and Russian soldiers.  The crying and wailing of the children and widows of the dead Russian soldiers are echoed across the world. The demise of Soviet Union brought an end to the Warsaw Pact which should have caused the dismantling of the NATO. On the contrary, the US is bent upon expanding this military organization and wants the military presence at the Russian borders. To achieve this objective the Ukrainian fascist regime is being used as a decoy that has provided an opportunity to the Russian capitalist oligarchy with expansionist designs to invade Ukraine. Here comes American military industrial complex into play to effect arms deals. This turf war is being fought between imperialist block of America, European Union and NATO, on one hand and the rising imperialist center of Russia and China, on the other. The war is simmering between them for super imperialism and world order of their respective choice. In the given situation, we should invoke the teachings of Comrade Lenin who had called upon the communists to rise in  an organized national rebellion against our respective rulers to bring the socialist revolution. The occupational tendencies of monopolist and imperialist capitalists and their penchant for grabbing markets and regions of strategic importance should not turn us into chauvinists to become fuel for their ambitious warmongering. We should reject the bourgeoisie slogan of the so-called defense of the homeland. But, alas, that was not to be in Russia-Ukraine war. 

Pakistan is once again being turned into a battlefield for turf war between international powers. In this regard, the resurgence of the Taliban and Islamic State is not without a purpose. The power-hungry generals of Pakistani security establishment are divided between the supporters of double game and those who follow American agenda wholeheartedly. The former government which is now sitting on opposition benches sided with the "double game" group while the current ruling alliance is the political facade of the second group. The present opposition leader who until recently had been following the American policy agenda and developed  differences with the military establishment on appointment of ISI Chief and consequently dismissed has now been capitalizing on anti-American public sentiments by directing his rhetoric against the American establishment. But when in power he even surpassed his predecessors in becoming its yes-man. Those who ran his government were mostly drawn from American and British Diasporas. He has hired American think-tank lobbyists for huge sum of 25000 US dollars to pave his way to power once again. We reject both groups and their supporter political outfits. We are struggling with full force and energy for the rights of people who are beset with inflation and joblessness. We are fighting for the restoration of their subsidies and providing amenities. We call out military and non-military non-productive spending. We have also directed our efforts towards the rehabilitation of flood affectees. Pakistani peasants have become hostage to the private usurers and high interest rates of the microfinance banks. We are sparing no efforts to get their loans written off and land reforms carried out. The labor laws enacted after tremendous struggle in decades of 60 and 70, have been rendered ineffective by business rulers and generals. Our party convened a Left Alternative Conference at capital Islamabad on 18 June this year. In this conference   10 leftist parties drawn from various parts of Pakistan including Gilgit-Baltistan decided to make an alliance that was named as The Popular Left Alliance. This alliance aims at achieving the aforementioned objectives along with uniting the workers and underprivileged section of the society to fight for their socioeconomic rights from this platform.

Dear Comrades!  

Under prevailing conditions this meeting holds a special significance. We should decide to reject the expansionist and imperialist wars of the bourgeois rulers.  We should turn these challenging conditions into opportunity as Comrade Lenin once did. We call upon CPs to rise against their exploitative and oppressive rulers wherever possible and bring the Socialist Revolution.

Long live Socialism 

Long live Communist Internationalism