large number of people carrying red flags assembled at the central hall of the District Bar Association, within a few hundred metres of the Clock Tower in Faisalabad. They included elderly men and women, young adults and some children. Most of them were power loom workers, brick kiln labourers and students. Many trade union leaders, activists and representatives of Kisan Ittehad from several districts were also present. They had all come to attend the Workers’ Convention organised by the Haqooq-i-Khalq Party.

Among the key speakers at the convention were Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Jr, a grandson of the Pakistan Peoples Party founder; Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s Dr Amjad Ali Khan, a member of the National Assembly from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; Haqooq-i-Khalq Party secretary general Ammar Ali Jan;and Mazdoor Kisan Party’s Taimur Rahman.

The convention participants resolved to launch a mass mobilisation campaign to unite students and young people in the struggle for labour rights and to organise a nationwide peasants’ movement. They also resolved to initiate a movement demanding local government elections in the Punjab and to work for the protection of democracy and rights enshrined in the constitution.

The Haqooq-i-Khalq Party first attracted nationwide attention during the student march in Lahore a few years ago, where the slogan Jab Laal Laal Lehraye ga [When the red flag will wave] echoed through the streets. The HKP is now engaged in an effort to revive leftist politics in Pakistan.

Faisalabad has long been an epicenter for leftist politics. During British rule, it was an important agricultural hub. After independence, it also emerged as a major industrial city.

For over a century, Faisalabad has been at the forefront of significant peasant and labour movements.

One of the earliest peasant uprisings in Lyallpur was the 1907 Pagri Sambhal Jatta movement. The movement opposed three colonial laws: the Doab Bari Act, the Punjab Land Colonisation Act and the Punjab Land Alienation Act. Under these laws, the British government laid claim to the lands cultivated by farmers after the construction of the Upper Bari Doab Canal from the Chenab River in 1879.

Although the settlers were initially promised free land, they were later denied ownership and reduced to mere sharecroppers. New regulations forbade them from constructing houses or cutting trees on their lands. Furthermore, if the eldest son of a farmer died before reaching adulthood, the land would revert to the government instead of passing on to the younger son.

The movement was led by Bhagat Singh’s uncle, Sardar Ajit Singh, and his father, Kishan Singh.

Pashaura Singh, a distinguished professor at University of California, Riverside, in his research paper titled Rethinking the 1907 Agrarian Revolt (Pagari Sambhal Jatta) of Lyallpur in Relation to the Present Kissan Movement in India, described it as “…the first organised farmer movement that shook British rule. He noted that this movement not only empowered farmers but also laid the foundation for the broader freedom struggle in the subcontinent. Drawing parallels with contemporary farmer protests in Indian Punjab, the tradition of resistance against unjust policies remains alive to this day.

During the Workers’ Convention, HKP’s general secretary Ammar Ali Jan invoked Faisalabad’s rich history of resistance, referencing Bhagat Singh’s rebellion against British colonial rule.

“Bhagat Singh stood up against the British Empire in this city,” said Jan, “We must keep his legacy alive and fight for our rights. We must organise.”

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Jr spoke about the struggles faced by farmers and tenants in Sindh and the Punjab, declaring, “The true heirs of this country are the common people. We will stand with them, resist oppression and bring about revolutionary change.”

Bhutto Jr also strongly criticised the proposal to extract six more canals from the Indus River, calling it “…an injustice to Sindh’s farmers and sharecroppers.”

One of the most significant leftist gatherings in Pakistan’s history, the Kisan Conference had taken place from March 23 to 25, 1970, in Toba Tek Singh then a tehsil of Lyallpur.

Tariq Saeed, senior journalist and native of Toba Tek Singh, recalls attending the conference as a ninth-grade student.

“Delegations from remote districts of Balochistan, the Northwest Frontier Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and Sindh began arriving as early as March 21, wearing red caps,” he reminisces.

On March 22, the excitement peaked when a procession of railway workers, led by the late Mirza Ibrahim, arrived from Lahore by train, all donning red caps. As they marched through the bazaars, local shopkeepers greeted them with enthusiasm. The arrival of processions from across the country continued throughout the day.

However, the most electrifying moment came when Kissan Express, a special train carrying renowned Bengali peasant leader Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani, reached Toba Tek Singh from Lahore. In a striking show of solidarity, the train’s driver, guard and staff wore red caps.

“Maulana Bhashani and Karachi’s prominent female labour leader, Begum Kaneez Fatima, were placed on a beautifully decorated bullock cart and led in a massive procession from the railway station,” Tariq Saeed recalls. “Throughout the march, thousands of participants chanted slogans such as Seize all landholdings. Down with capitalism and feudalism. Down with imperialism,” he says.

The distance from the railway station to the conference site was just 1.5 kilometers. However, the procession took three hours to reach its destination. As Maulana Bhashani ascended the stage, thousands of people stood and applauded for several minutes, chanting, “Surkh hai surkh hai, Asia surkh hai [Asia is red]”

Among the other prominent speakers at the conference were poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Masih-ur Rahman of the National Awami Party (who later became Bangladesh’s deputy prime minister), Punjab Kisan Committee president Rao Mehroz Akhtar Khan, Abid Hassan Minto, Meraj Muhammad Khan, Khaksar Tehreek leader Ameer Habibullah Saadi, Rasul Bakhsh Palijo and Qazi Ghiasuddin Janbaz. The conference proceedings were conducted by Chaudhry Fateh Muhammad, the president of the Pakistan Kisan Committee from Toba Tek Singh.

One of the most memorable moments came when Pakistan Peoples Party leader Malik Meraj Khalid took the stage and read out a message from PPP chairman, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The audience responded with overwhelming enthusiasm. Reflecting on the event, Tariq Saeed remarks, “Whether the farmers and labourers directly benefited from the conference or not is debatable. However, there is no doubt that the success of the gathering significantly boosted the Pakistan Peoples Party, helping it win its first general elections.”

In one of his columns, the late socialist leader Dr Lal Khan reflected on the historic Kisan Conference, writing: “Despite Ayub Khan’s rapid industrialisation, Pakistan in 1968-69 was still primarily an agrarian society. While a majority of the population lived in rural areas, the revolutionary slogans and demands emerging from the cities were increasingly resonating in the villages, profoundly influencing the consciousness, psychology and thinking of the peasantry.”

He noted that due to the ongoing movement against Ayub Khan’s regime, peasants and small farmers across both East and West Pakistan began challenging the dominance of large landowners. The popular slogan of the farmers’ movement was “Jehra wahvay, ohi khavay” [Whoever produces the grain should eat].

Dr Lal Khan also pointed out that the first Kisan Conference was held in March 1948 in Toba Tek Singh, where the Punjab Kisan Committee was formed. The success of the 1970 conference, he wrote, deeply unsettled both the feudal and capitalist elite in the Punjab and Sindh. At the same time, religious factions were also displeased.

“In response to the Kisan Conference, several right-wing parties organised a counter-event, Youm-i-Shaukat-i-Islam in Toba Tek Singh on May 31, 1970. Jamaat-i-Islami played a leading role in this,” wrote Dr Khan.

In a striking parallel, HKP’s Workers’ Convention conincided with Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan’s own Workers’ Convention at the Faisalabad Press Club, opposite the Bar building.

Political activist and researcher Dr Muhammad Arfan, in a conversation with TNS, commented on the state of leftist politics in Pakistan. “In the past, ideological political workers selflessly engaged in activism. Much of the Left’s work has been co-opted today by various NGOs. The spirit of collective community action has been eroded and replaced by NGO projects and funding.”

Dr Arfan said that while the Left once had a strong global presence, which also influenced Pakistan, the recent times were dominated by populism. The Left, he said, was struggling for survival.

“One of the biggest challenge for the working class in Pakistan and across the region is its tendency to seek a messiah rather than organising to solve its own problems. This remains the tragedy of the working class movements and leftist politics in Pakistan,” he said.

Ammar Ali Jan, in a conversation with TNS, stated that the free-market economy under capitalism had failed, not just in Pakistan but globally, leading to an escalating conflicts between the working class and the ruling elites.

“Governments and capitalists, through their collusion, are cutting back on the limited benefits available to workers and farmers to maximise their profits. On top of that, there is a continuous increase in taxes. To counter this exploitation, we aim to organise and empower the most vulnerable segments of the society.”

He said whatever rights people had gained in Pakistan were the result of historical political struggle.

“The increase in wages, the determination of a minimum wage, pensions, social security, welfare boards and the establishment of labour departments are all direct results of past struggles. Even the constitutional provisions regarding labourers and farmers exist because of these movements.”

He said in recent years, protests by farmers, workers, teachers, lady health workers, students and other marginalised groups had increased significantly.

“We want to unify these into a common movement. The only way to advance this cause is through political representation. The voices of the oppressed need to be heard in the assemblies.”

Criticising the political parties currently in power, Jan said that they were deeply entrenched in the pockets of capitalists and could not be expected to advocate for the rights of workers and farmers.

Highlighting the need for a long-term industrial policy to protect labour and industry in Pakistan, he said strengthening labour unions was essential for addressing these systemic issues.

“The state’s policy has always been to keep workers’ wages low in order to increase textile exports and gain a competitive edge over regional countries.”

Jan said that their struggle was not just about labour rights, but also about demanding a sustainable industrial policy to ensure fair and healthy competition.

“We believe that those who work the land should be the ones to benefit from it. In the past, landlords exploited the labour of tenant farmers and agricultural workers. Now, they are introducing corporate farming, which will only worsen exploitation.”

He said that land reforms were the only solution, but successive governments had failed to deliver those.

While acknowledging that leftist politics had weakened over time, he remained optimistic, saying that labourers and peasants were now rallying under their banner.

“We started our movement with students, who are at the forefront of our party. Most of them come from working-class backgrounds. Now, we are launching a new organisation called Khalq Youth Front across the Punjab and Pakistan. We believe that together the youth, peasants and labourers can save this country.”

The writer has been associated with journalism for the past decade. He tweets @naeemahmad876