madam president as an international socialist i strongly defend the right of each individual to freedom of religious belief and practice on the basis that the fundamental rights of others are not transgressed
the people of pakistan and even more so the religious minorities are at the present time caught between the institutional bigotry of the pakistani state and in some regions the ultra-reactionary and obscurantive forces of the taliban
there is of course a fundamental contradiction in right-wing groups in this european parliament claiming to stand for freedom and human rights in pakistan while supporting the war in afghanistan which is having a severe spill-over effect into pakistan with very detrimental consequences
the slaughter of civilians in afghanistan by nato forces and by western-supplied armaments in pakistan apart from being criminal in itself can push some civilians into the arms of the reactionary groups
at the heart of the crisis in pakistan are the feudal capitalist structures under which enormous levels of poverty flourish at the present time
neither the corrupt elite in pakistan represented by the present government nor the main opposition party have any answers for the people
independent organisations representing working people and the poor are critical
the progressive workers federation is one such organisation whose half a million members are trying to rebuild strong social traditions to unite working people cross national and religious lines and unite men and women
this is the future direction that pakistan needs to take
