Demonstration Urges Overhaul of Global Financial System

LAHORE: Farmers, laborers, women’s groups, climate advocates, and civil society representatives convened a march near the US embassy by the Lahore Press Club, advocating for significant changes to the global economic and financial framework.

The demonstration coincided with the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) in Sevilla, Spain, scheduled from June 30 to July 3, where global leaders will discuss the financial requirements of developing nations.

Spearheaded by the Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee (PKRC), Labour Education Foundation (LEF), Tameer-e-Nau Women Workers Organisation, Joint Action Committee, and collaborating entities, the protest mirrored similar demonstrations across Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, and Latin America.

Participants in Lahore displayed placards and banners bearing slogans such as “Cancel the Debt,” “Deliver Climate Justice,” and “Tax the Rich, Not the Poor.” They voiced strong disapproval of the existing global financial structure, asserting that it exacerbates inequality, perpetuates debt cycles, and disproportionately burdens developing countries like Pakistan with financial instability, escalating inflation, and climate-related disasters attributed to industrialized countries. They demanded the termination of unjust and unsustainable debts, the prompt allocation of climate funding through public, grant-based mechanisms rather than loans, and the creation of equitable, multilateral systems under the auspices of the United Nations to tackle both debt and global tax inequities.

Saima Zia, representing the Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee, addressed the gathering, emphasizing the detrimental effects of global financial injustice on Pakistani farmers. She stated, “For decades, the people of Pakistan, particularly small farmers, have suffered the consequences of a global financial system that favors the wealthy and influential. Mounting debts and climate catastrophes have rendered our lands unproductive and our livelihoods precarious. It is imperative that our government and the international community stand with the people, not with those seeking profit. Cancel the debt and compensate for the climate damage inflicted.”

Khalid Mehmood, Director of the Labour Education Foundation, underscored how these crises have intensified the exploitation of Pakistani workers. “Each new IMF loan brings more stringent conditions for workers, including wage stagnation, privatization of essential services, and increased inflation. Debt relief and a fair global financial system are not merely theoretical demands; they are crucial for the survival of Pakistan’s working class. We reject this unjust financial order and demand immediate climate and economic justice.”