KARACHI, March 17: The Communist Party of Pakistan has stated that the supremacy of parliament, independence of the judiciary, freedom of the press, an end to the military dictatorship and protection of the fundamental human rights can be made possible only through a mass movement.

Speaking at a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Monday, CPP Secretary-General Khadim Thahim described the March 9, 2007 actions of the government as undemocratic, anti-people and autocratic and demanded the restoration of the Nov 2 judiciary, which could be “a small step in the right direction though not the goal itself”.

The CPP condemned the military operation in Balochistan and the missile attacks and bombing in the limits of Pakistan by NATO forces. It called upon the government to stop the army operation and killing of innocent people, find out and release all missing people and Baloch leader Akhtar Mengal, JSQM leader Dr Safdar Sarki, Chief Justice Chaudhry Iftikhar and other hundreds of political prisoners.

The party, he said, also condemned the recent increase in prices of food items, oil and gas and opposed withdrawing of subsidies on these items. In view of the severe energy crisis, he said, the rulers should start implementing the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline agreement.

The CPP leader said the army coterie had taken over the country which had political, economic and strategic interests and had control over a five billion dollars capital as well as five million acres. The same ruling clique had taken over power to protect its capital and was trying to keep its hold on power at all costs.

The party was of the opinion that Pakistan was neither part of the Middle East nor of Central Asia but of the subcontinent. Therefore, friendly relations with India were necessary for peace in the region and inevitable for the stability of democracy in Pakistan.

He said that Pakistan, deprived it of its national and geographical sovereignty and independence, had been turned into a frontline state to protect American interests.

“As the 1973 constitution has failed to take the country out of its political, economic and constitutional crises, there is a need to swap the 1973 constitution with a new secular and democratic constitution, under which the obsolete feudal system be declared as unconstitutional and farmers be declared owners of the land,” he said, adding that after eliminating sectarianism, Pakistan be made a secular state.

The CPP also observed that the objective behind continuing the war on terrorism for an indefinite period by President Bush was to have total control over oil and gas reserves, spreading from the Middle East to Central Asia, and the world market and for achieving these objectives the US was spending $500 billion on its army and providing aid of $145 billion to Israel.

The increasing demand for fuel had made the oil and gas business highly profitable, igniting a clash of interests among multinational companies, and after imposing a war on Afghanistan and Iraq, the US and its allies were pushing the world towards a new world war, he said, and appealed to all peace-loving sections of workers to rise against the globalisation to protect the world against war.