HYDERABAD, March 3: The Labour Party Pakistan has decided to take part in protest demonstrations to be held throughout the world on March 20 against US policies. The decisions were taken at the two-day session of the national committee of the party at the YMCA hall in Karachi on Feb 29 and March 1.

Briefing newsmen about the deliberations of the national committee at the local press club on Wednesday, LPP general secretary Farooq Tariq, Punjab general secretary Mushtaq Goraya and Ali Hassan Jatoi of Sindh criticized the policies of Gen Pervez Musharraf.

They said the party would also join the anti-greater Thal canal committee in its campaign against the anti-people water projects. They condemned the army operation and the killings of innocent people in South Waziristan. They demanded that the US and other forces should be withdrawn from Iraq, Afghanistan, and other countries.

They said the two-day session of the national committee of the party had viewed with great concern the rampant unemployment, poverty, privatisation of national enterprises at throwaway prices and increase in the prices of POL at the behest of the World Bank, the IMF and the WTO regime.

The Labour Party leaders demanded the reinstatement of the general secretary of the union Ghani Zaman and other sacked workers. Strongly opposing the construction of anti-people Kalabagh dam and greater Thal canal projects, they condemned the registration of cases against PONAM leaders.

They said the national committee of the party had also decided to join the anti-greater Thal canal committee. They said that a ten-member committee headed by Hari leader Ghulam Qadir Mirani, advocate, had been appointed to re-organize the party in Sindh.

They said the national committee had adopted several resolutions demanding the repeal of IRO-2002, withdrawal of ban on trade unions activities and an end to privatization, etc.