Awami Tahreek or Qaumi Awami Tehreek, formerly Sindhi Awami Tahreek (), is a Marxist–Leninist–Maoist political party based in the

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

i province of

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

, and headquartered in

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

Formation

Awami Tahreek was formed on 5 March 1970, by the leading writers, activists, and intellectuals in

Hyderabad, Sindh Hyderabad, also known as Neroonkot, is the capital and largest city of the Hyderabad Division in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Sindh by population, second-largest city in Sindh, after Karachi, and the List of citie ...

. At the first party meeting, the leading theoretician

Rasool Bux Palijo Rasool Bux Palijo ( Sindhi, ; 21 February 1930 – 7 June 2018) was a Pakistani leftist, Marxist leader, scholar and writer. He was a leading human-rights lawyer and the leader and founder of Awami Tahreek, a progressive and leftist party. ...

was elected as its first general secretary. It has gradually evolved into a national party and supported the anti-feudal elements against the PPP-P and PML-N in Sindh and Western Punjab; Awami Tahreek and PTI are the two main parties supporting anti-feudal-lordism and social democratic ideals in the country.

History

Awami Tahreek has supported movements including: * Neelam Band Karyo Movement * Sindhi Voter Lists Movement * MRD * Journalist Movement * Anti-Urban Terrorism Movement and * Anti-Kalabagh Dam and Thal Canal Movement Recently, Awami Tahreek has started to create local/regional offices in other provinces, and has broadened its political philosophy from a provincial to a national level.

Split into AT and QAT

In 2013, Awami Tehreek was later renamed as Qaumi Awami Tehreek (QAT) and Rasul Bux Palijo's son

Ayaz Latif Palijo Ayaz Latif Palijo ( Sindhi, ; born 15 November 1968) is a politician, lawyer, activist, writer and teacher. Palijo is the current president of Qomi Awami Tahreek (Peoples National Movement), central convener and founder of the Sindh Progressiv ...

became its central leader but in 2016, due to some internal rifts between Rasul Bux Palijo and

, Rasul Bux Palijo announced to revive Awami Tehreek again as a separate faction distancing from his son led QAT.

Ideology

Awami Tahreek is a political party devoted to non-violence in its democratic struggle to attain freedom of the people through the scientific and revolutionary tenets of

Marxism–Leninism–Maoism Marxism–Leninism–Maoism (MLM) is a term used by some communist groups to emphasize the significance of Maoism as a new stage in Marxism, Marxist theory and practice. Adherents of Marxism–Leninism–Maoism claim it to be a unified, coh ...

. It is committed to people's

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

, economic and social justice, and establishment of a welfare state in a country where people can have equity, political freedom, economic opportunity, and genuine provincial autonomy. Its platform is that a comprehensive overhauling of society is required in order to deliver the benefits of a welfare state to the masses. Awami Tahreek stands for equal rights for all citizens without distinction of sex, class, color, language, faith, or creed. Awami Tahreek is strict in opposing capitalism, imperialism, army rule, dictatorships, terrorism, corruption, racism, gender discrimination, and religious bigotry. Awami Tahreek promises to replace feudalism with principles of socialism to protect and advance the interests of peasantry. Awami Tahreek continues to champion the cause of the unity of Pakistan in general and Sindh in particular, the caste system, communities,

minorities The term "minority group" has different meanings, depending on the context. According to common usage, it can be defined simply as a group in society with the least number of individuals, or less than half of a population. Usually a minority g ...

, and ethnic groups. Since the foundation of the party, it has come forward as a builder of

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

unity.

Political movements

Awami Tahreek opposed the division of Sindh, holding a "Mohabbat Sindh Rally" (love and sanctity of Sindh Dharti) against the division.

References

External links

* {{Pakistani political parties Grand Democratic Alliance Communist parties in Pakistan Communism in Pakistan Maoist parties Progressive parties in Pakistan Secularism in Pakistan Socialism in Pakistan Socialist parties in Pakistan Maoism in Asia