Pakistan is the latest south Asian country to be thrown into political, social, and economic turmoil.
After a desperate attempt to cling to power, the coalition of opposition parties in parliament carried a vote of no confidence in the prime minister Imran Khan.
Khan’s government, headed by his Tehreek-e-Insaf party, came to power in 2017, promising to end corruption and the decades-long rule of the two-party dynasty, of the PML-N and PPP.
But Khan’s government has failed to deliver on any of its promises and turned increasingly to Islamic fundamentalist forces to maintain power.
He came to power with the backing of the all-powerful military, but has lost their backing.
He has presided over a desperate economic situation – with millions of Pakistanis mired in dire poverty – and embarked on a massive privatisation programme.
The need to build a new party for the working class and poor with a socialist programme to break with capitalism and feudalism in Pakistan, and link together with the workers of India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, is more urgent than ever.
