Communist Party of Pakistan is against Clinton's Visit

[Nasreen Karim]

> --------------------------------------------------------------------
> Clinton's visit slammed
>
>
> By Our Staff Reporter
>
> KARACHI, March 24: The Communist Party of Pakistan and four other
> organizations of the left, including the Awami Jiddojehad Forum, have said
> President Clinton's tour of South Asia is merely aimed at seeking more
> favours for US investors in the market of over 1.5 billion people.
>
> This was part of the imperialist designs of the US, they added. They
> expressed the opinion that the US president's visit sought to implement
> agreements under the World Trade Organization (WTO), stress on signing of
> the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and to enforce New World Order
and
> the concept of globalization of trade in South Asia. Globalization would
add
> another one million to the already 18 million unemployed in Pakistan
alone,
> they said.
>
> The leaders were speaking at a press conference at Karachi Press Club on
> Wednesday. Razi-ul-Hasan of the Awami Jaddojehad Forum, Salim Raza of the
> National Trade Union Federation, Zubair-ur-Rehman of the Mehnat Kash
> Jamhoori Mohaz, Omar Baloch of the Labour Party and Maula Bakhsh Khaskheli
> of the Communist Party spoke at the press conference.
>
> Expressing their determination to fail the imperialists' designs, they
urged
> SAARC countries, especially the rulers of Pakistan and India, that instead
> of becoming part of the policies of the forces of imperialism in the
region,
> they should work for the formation a South Asian regional economic bloc.
> They should also promote science and technology.
>
> They called upon India and Pakistan to resolve their differences,
including
> the Kashmir issue, through bilateral negotiations.
>
> "The Kashmir issue should be resolved as per aspirations of the people of
> Kashmir," they maintained, and demanded of both India and Pakistan to cut
> their defence budgets by 50 per cent.
>
> Referring to internal policies, they urged the Pakistan government to stop
> forthwith the policy of privatization, downsizing and retrenchment of
> workers.
>
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