LAHORE:The once well established and respected Pakistan Forum was officially re-launched this weekend with a hybrid event that gathered students, organisers, and activists as well as others from across the Pakistani diaspora.
The event marked a renewed commitment to building a progressive platform for political education, grassroots solidarity, and transnational organizing. The online event was conducted from New York and brought together people from cities around the world on Zoom.
Originally founded in 1970 by figures like academicians Eqbal Ahmad and Feroz Ahmed, the Pakistan Forum emerged during a time of mass uprisings and democratic hope. Today’s revival draws on that legacy to confront the intersecting crises facing Pakistan — mounting authoritarianism, economic inequality, climate collapse, and the suppression of dissent.
The forum aims to connect diaspora communities to political struggles in Pakistan and among Pakistani immigrant workers globally. It seeks to leverage diaspora privilege — access to resources, safety, and platforms — to support grassroots movements, amplify marginalised voices, and build a shared vision for justice and equity.
Participants reflected on global solidarity movements, including Palestine, and discussed ways to resist isolation, censorship, and elite narratives.
They also highlighted the invisibilised struggles of undocumented Pakistani workers in the West, calling for their inclusion in the diaspora’s political imagination. The forum will move forward with projects spanning political education, digital publications, cross-solidarity efforts, and fundraising for movement work in Pakistan. It invites anyone committed to justice to join in building a progressive, inclusive, and collective vision for Pakistan’s future.
