The Awami Workers Party (AWP) condemns in the strongest possible terms the assassination of Iranian top commander Maj-General Qassem Suleimani and others in a US drone attack on Iraqi soil.
The party considers unilateral US action as nothing less than state terrorism which may further fuel the conflict and turmoil in the Middle East, trigger another war in the region and escalate the global confrontation. US aggression and warmongering in the Middle East over the past two decades has already led to the devastation of Libya, Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan further to the east.
Upon assumption of the US presidency, Donald Trump vowed to extricate the US from a costly foreign war. Instead, he has resorted to the same tactics has his predecessors – to fan the flames of war as he tried to ward off impeachment and a failing economy. US belligerence betrays imperialist designs as it seeks to strengthen its dominance and hegemony in the region to grab natural resources and also market its weapons of mass destruction.
We call for immediate de-escalation of the situation and withdrawal of all foreign troops from Iraq and the Middle East. Iran’s bombing of a US base in Iraq in response to Suleimani’s assassination was a risky gambit, and an attempt to assert its own claims in the region. The AWP urges Iran to act with prudence and its reaction to the US provocation must be mature keeping the interests and hardship of the people of the region in mind.
The escalation in the region will inevitably intensify the oppression of all progressive forces and resistance movements fighting for democratic and economic rights. The party stands with the people of Iran, Iraq and other progressive forces in the region and calls on all peace-loving people the working class and anti-war movements across the world to raise their voice against imperialist aggressive postures and undemocratic regimes in the region. Any war may inflict enormous loss and suffering of the working class and strengthen the fascist, repressive anti-people regimes in the Middle East.
The world must censure Trump’s irresponsible comments and threats to target Iranian cultural sites which may constitute a war crime. The backlash in the Muslim world would be unimaginable.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s response to the drone strike has confirmed that the country is run not by the elected government but by the military establishment. It is the responsibility of the Foreign Office, and not the military spokesperson, to give policy statements on such sensitive matters.
We demand the Pakistan government to condemn Trump’s criminal act and stand firmly against any aggression on Iran by the US government.
Islamabad must adopt an independent, non-aligned foreign policy of peace and respect the sovereignty of all nations, and play its role in the resolution of conflicts through peaceful means.