The Labour Party Pakistan (, LPP) was a

far-left Far-left politics, also known as extreme left politics or left-wing extremism, are politics further to the left on the left–right political spectrum than the standard political left. The term does not have a single, coherent definition; some ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area'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) was a political international established in France in 1938 by Leon Trotsky and his supporters, having been expelled from the Soviet Union and the Communist International (also known as Comintern or the Third Inte ...

. 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 Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...

tradition. Its founders were students in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

who came into contact with the

Committee for a Workers' International The Committee for a Workers' International (CWI; , or CIT; or CIO) was an Political international, international association of Trotskyism, Trotskyist political parties and organisations. Today, two groups claim to be the continuation of the C ...

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

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# ...

in 1986 and began carrying out entry work in the

Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is a political party in Pakistan and one of the three major List of political parties in Pakistan, Pakistani political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. With a Cent ...

as The Struggle. From 1991, some members split from The Struggle and operated as an open group; in 1995 they became the Jeddojuhd Inqilabi Tehreek (JIT) or Struggle Revolutionary Movement. 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 Revolutionary Communist International (RCI) is a Trotskyist political international. It was founded as the Committee for a Marxist International (CMI) by British-based South African political theorist Ted Grant and his supporters after th ...

until

Lal Khan Lal Khan (born Tanveer Gondal; June 1956 – 21 February 2020) was a Pakistani political activist and Marxist political theorist. He was a physician by profession but ceased practicing medicine in order to devote his time to political activit ...

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) is a Left-wing politics, left-wing political party campaigning for the establishment of an Scottish independence, independent Socialism, socialist Scottish Scottish republicanism, republic. The party was fou ...

and the International Socialist Organisation in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

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

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

. The party was led by Chairman Nisar Shah (Late). The General Secretary was Farooq Tariq. Supporters of the party publish a weekly paper in

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

, ''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 Awami Workers Party () is a left-wing socialist political party in Pakistan. The party seeks to unify the struggles of workers, peasants, students, women and ethnic and religious minorities in Pakistan under the banner of a democratic and soc ...

. 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

. 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