Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee methere in Baghla Gogera, Okara district on 26th November. Over 70 representative of different peasant organisations attended the meeting. The meeting was helt at a festival called Punjabi Lok Booliu Mela organised by Punjab Lok Sujag.
The peasant meeting decided to organise Pakistan Kisan Conference on 4th February 2007 at Minar Pakistan Lahore. The meeting decided in principle to work for the creation of one national peasant organisation. The final announcement of the organisation will be made at the Kissan conference.
Representaive from Sind and Punjab attended the meeting presided by veteran peasant leader Choudry Fateh Mohammed of Toba Tek Singh.
Please contact ify ou have suggestion to make the conference successfull. If you want a formal invitation, please contact us. We would like to invite different peasant organisation worldwide. Please send the contacts if you have any.
Detail of the conference and the Rabita committee is in the following message:
Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee has decided to call an all Pakistan Kissan Conference on 4th February 2007 at Minar-i-Pakistan, Lahore. The conference is been called to discuss the present worsening situation of peasantry in Pakistan.
The strict implementation of WTO conditionalties in agriculture sector has resulted in growing poverty among peasantry. It has meant more expenditure on agricultural inputs by the peasantry and a consistent withdrawal of subsidies by the state in different sector of agriculture.
Feudalism is been strengthened by the present military regime and army has become hand in hand with the feudal class to benefit from the system. Over 12 percent of agriculture land in Pakistan is now owned by military or military related institutions.
The privatization of fertilizers companies, expensive electricity, over dated agric drugs imports, usage of genetic seeds, intellectual property rights of crops and several other issues are now becoming a headache for the peasants.
The All Pakistan Peasant Conference will be an opportunity for several thousands of peasants to listen and share their views with other for a fight back. This will pave the way for more unity among progressive peasants’ organizations in Pakistan.
Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee was formed in 2003 at a peasant conference in Chishtian to unite the progressive forces among peasants in Pakistan. PKRC held another conference in Mir Pur Khas Sind in 2004. It helped one of its affiliate organizations Pakistan Kissan Committee to organize another Kissan Conference in 2005 at Toba Tek Singh. Thousands of peasants have participated in these activities.
PKRC is an independent peasant organization not part of any political parties. Although all the Left parties of Pakistan are supporting this committee and their supporter peasant organizations are part of the committee. Majority of radical social organizations have also lent their support for this effort to bring all the progressive peasant organizations to one plate form. PKRC is like a federation of peasant organizations but all the linked organizations are independent in their activities as well.
At present, there are 23 peasant organizations that are part of the Pakistan Kissan Rabita (coordination) Committee. They include
- Anjaman Mozareen Punjab
- Ghareeb Kissan Tehreek
- Peoples Rights Movement
- Sind Hari Committee
- Ghareeb Itehad Anjaman Shamsia, Sheikhupura
- Tameer Millat Welfare Society, Layya
- Saved Traqiayati Tanzeem, Chishtian
- Progressive Youth Front
- Sind Hari Tehreek
- Pakistan Kissan Committee
- Sweera Foundation, Chishtian
- Shanji Shooch Foundation, Layya
- Umeed development Foundation, Layya
- Sublime Foundation, Behalwalpur
- Anjaman Zameedaran Chagi, Baluchistan
- Danish Foundation, Layya
- Anjaman Kissan Sarhad
- Sarhad Agricultural Development Organisation
- -Look Mehaz, Depalpur
- Anjaman Kissan Mutasreen Mercedez Benz, Sheikhupura
- Bhandar Hari Sanghat
- Pakistan Kissan Itehad
- Punjab Lok Sujag
Please contact if you know any peasant organisation who want to join the Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee. Social Organizations who are involved with the welfare of peasantry can also become part of PKRC.
Please help spread the news of the conference. Please help to raise the funds for this conference. The target is to collect at least 10 lakh rupees ($17000) for this event. We hope that over 10,000 peasants will participate in this conference.
PKRC is sending a formal application for the approval of the local government in Lahore. This is a place where most of the big event has taken place in the past, but mainly the religious fundamentalists. This is a first effort by the progressive forces in Pakistan to organize this event at Minar-i-Pakistan, Lahore.
For more information, please contact
Secretariat:
Farooq Tariq
Mehr Abdul Sattar
Tariq Mehmood