The Labour Party Pakistan ( ur, لیبر پارٹی پاکستان, LPP) was a

far-left Far-left politics, also known as the radical left or the extreme left, are politics further to the left on the left–right political spectrum than the standard political left. The term does not have a single definition. Some scholars consider ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

and a leading labor union, closely allying associating with

Fourth International The Fourth International (FI) is a Revolutionary socialism, revolutionary socialist international organization consisting of followers of Leon Trotsky, also known as Trotskyism, Trotskyists, whose declared goal is the overthrowing of global ca ...

. It claimed membership of 7,300 members in 2009. It originates from the

Trotskyist Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a ...

tradition. Its founders were students in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

who came into contact with the

Committee for a Workers' International The Committee for a Workers' International (CWI) was an international association of Trotskyist political parties. Today, two groups claim to be the continuation of the CWI. History Founding The origins of the CWI can be traced to a group of ...

and were recruited to that body in 1980. They returned to

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

in 1986 and began carrying out entry work in the

Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan People's Party ( ur, , ; PPP) is a centre-left, social-democratic political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third largest party in the National Assembly and second largest in the Senate of Pakistan. The party was founded ...

as The Struggle. From 1991 some members split from The Struggle and operated as an open group and in 1995 they became the Jeddojuh Inqilabi Tehrik (JIT) or

Struggle Revolutionary Movement Struggle may refer to: Film and TV * ''Struggle'' (2003 film), an Austrian film * Struggle (2013 film) * ''Struggle'' (TV series), 2007 Chinese TV series Music * ''Struggle'' (Nonpoint album), 1999 release * Struggle (Woody Guthrie album), 199 ...

. This was in opposition to the advice of the CWI. This was with a membership of 70 militants which grew to 740 by 1997 when the LPP was launched. The LPP was expelled from the CWI after accepting funds from NGOs. The rest of The Struggle continued as a section of the

International Marxist Tendency The International Marxist Tendency (IMT) is an international Trotskyist political tendency founded by Ted Grant and his supporters following their break with the Committee for a Workers' International in 1992. The organization's website, Mar ...

until Lal Khan was expelled in 2016 over differences on entryism inside PPP. The LPP is close to groupings such as the

Scottish Socialist Party The Scottish Socialist Party (SSP; gd, Pàrtaidh Sòisealach na h-Alba; sco, Scots Socialist Pairtie) is a Left-wing politics, left-wing political party campaigning for the establishment of an Scottish independence, independent Socialism, so ...

and the

International Socialist Organisation Solidarity is a Trotskyist organisation in Australia. The group is a member of the International Socialist Tendency and has branches in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane and Perth. The organisation was formed in 2008 from a merger between groups e ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. In March 2005, it obtained permanent observer status in the

reunified Fourth International The Fourth International (FI), founded in 1938, is a Trotskyist international. In 1963, following a ten-year schism, the majorities of the two public factions of the Fourth International, the International Secretariat and the International C ...

. The party is led by its 30-year-old chairman Nisar Shah. The General Secretary is

Farooq Tariq Farooq (also transliterated as Farouk, Faruqi, Farook, Faruk, Faroeq, Faruq, or Farouq, Farooqi, Faruque or Farooqui; ar, فاروق, Fārūq) is a common Arabic given and family name. ''Al-Fārūq'' literally means "the one who distinguishes b ...

. Supporters of the party publish a weekly paper in

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

, ''Mazdoor Jeddojuhd''. In November 2012, the LPP announced that it was to merge with two other left parties, the Awami Party Pakistan and the Workers Party Pakistan, forming a new Awami Workers Party. The new party's aims would include a break with multinational capital and imperialism, the end of feudalism, establishment of a democratic federal system and improving relations with neighbouring states. The LPP dissolved on 10 November 2012, and Farooq Tariq was elected general secretary of the AWP. In 2018, the party merged with the Communist Mazdoor Kissan Party and the National Workers Party to form the Awami Workers Party. In October 2019, the LPP announced its resignation from the AWP. Farooq Tariq alleged that the group was being "witch-hunted" in the party, and said that the party had been reluctant to work with farmers', workers' and democratic movements, or to campaign for the release of political prisoner Baba Jan, a leading AWP member.

References

External links

Labour Party Pakistan's official website''Mazdoor Jeddojuhd''
LPP weekly magazine produced by party supporters (Urdu) {{Authority control Awami Workers Party Communist parties in Pakistan Defunct political parties in Pakistan Fourth International (post-reunification) Political parties established in 1997 Labour history of Pakistan Secularism in Pakistan Far-left politics in Pakistan Pakistan People's Party breakaway groups