I would first of all like to extend my sincere gratitude for the invitation extended to the Afghanistan Liberation Organisation to participate in this function. I hope that this present meeting will mark the beginning of comradely co-operation between us and between all revolutionary and leftist forces of our two countries.

We are gathered here today to fondly remember Major Ishaq who while holding the banner of revolution aloft fought for his people and the masses throughout his whole lifetime. Remembrance of the likes of Major Ishaq takes on particular significance at a time like this when the imperialists and their dogs are all howling the song of the defeat and death of communism and Marxism. In such an atmosphere, to convene such functions in fond memory of our departed comrades and to renew our covenant to carry on their path is no less than a lethal dart in the heart of the enemy and at the widespread derision of the imperialists and their lackeys.

Despite deep crisis and enemy encirclement, the international communist movement is still on its feet. Notwithstanding innumerable difficulties, persecution and decimation, revolutionary Marxists are still active in nearly all countries of the world, and with the exception of a few traitorous cowards who have lost faith, are still struggling intrepidly. The current crises engulfing us not only have not daunted those comrades who have unswerving faith in revolutionary ideas and scientific analyses of today's world, these crises have even deepened and strengthened their faith in the truth and correctness of the path they have chosen to follow.

The fall and the dismantling of the Soviet Union and its satellites has nothing to do with Marxism for the imperialists to celebrate as the "demise of Marxism". The Soviet Union had deviate long ago, after the death of Stalin, from the principles of Marxism. The coming to power of Khrushchev and his band marked the plunge of the Soviet Union into the abyss of treachery and the beginning of a period of great betrayals in the name of Marxism, socialism, peace and internationalism. The ultimate fate of the Soviet Union and its satellites was predictable even at that time. Great proletarian leaders such as Mao Zedong criticised the policies of the Soviet party and state and labelled them a revisionism which operates far more dangerously and far more hypocritically than any imperialism. Thereafter, a number of entities in the world Marxist movement held the banner of revolutionary Marxism aloft by branding the Soviet Union a traitor and placing struggle against it on the order of the day. Others turned into venal lackeys and mercenaries of the revisionists, and an acute struggle between the two sides ensued. The double-dealings and imperialistic actions of the Soviet Union under the name of socialism is not hidden from anyone. The armed invasion and occupation of Afghanistan was the acme and the most striking example of social-imperialistic treachery to socialism. History has brilliantly borne out the soundness and accuracy of the anti-Soviet orientation of Mao Zedong and all anti-revisionist revolutionaries.

The world today is deeply embroiled in crises and conflict. The imperialists believe themselves to be the unchallenged masters of the world and their fundamentalist and non-fundamentalist regional dogs are swaggering in their leash-holders' shadows. They foment strife, discord, interference, ruses and conspiracies, and perpetrate heinous crimes in different parts of the world in the name of "a new world order" and "human rights". They perpetrate their crimes under the flag of the United Nations and employ new methods to exploit and suck the blood of toiling masses and exterminate revolutionary movements of the proletariat around the globe. In any and all flashpoints around the world where the flames of ethnic, nationalistic, religious, linguistic, local and regional conflicts, etc. are being stoked, the hands of imperialism will be found to be at work, with the US in the director's chair.

The acute contradictions rife amongst the imperialists themselves is no secret to anyone. The absurdity of the Kautskyite theory of "ultra-imperialism" is borne out once again, and the validity of Lenin's thesis that imperialism is the threshold of proletarian revolution and the last phase of the bourgeoisie's death throes once again withstands the test of history.

Innumerable experiences on a world scale shows that the masses never capitulate to imperialist tyranny. Their ordeals ultimately lead them to insurrection. Where there is oppression there is resistance, and awe-inspiring epics of anti-imperialist resistance are being written even now across the globe. Revolutionary tempests brewing in Peru, Turkey, Nepal, Iran, Kurdistan, Mexico, Columbia, the Philippines, India and other places have imperialist stooges trembling. All these revolutionary foci are ample evidence for the refutation of Fukuyama's reactionary theory of "the end of history". Imperialism and its lackeys always count on history having reached its "last terminal". But for the majority of the world's toiling masses the wheel of history grinds on. We have unswerving faith that a new climax of revolutionary upheavals shall engulf the world. Even the imperialists themselves know this and therefore, despite having proclaimed communism dead and buried for the umpteenth time, they still do not desist for an instant from widespread propaganda against it.

Imperialistic powers who see themselves as sovereigns of the world and look upon their countries as nothing less than paradise on earth, all nurture potent class contradictions within themselves which every now and then rear their heads and spoil the imperialists' sleep of the just. From riots in the heart of the United States to general strikes in Europe and the Far East, all are subterranean rumblings of the dormant social volcano. Not a day passes without the Western media spilling news, albeit censured, of social dissent and protest and swelling of the ranks of the unemployed and the homeless in these countries. The "Asian Tigers", the imperialists' vaunted showpieces, are all today caught in the web of social and financial crises and are teetering on the brink of chaos and the collapse of their anti-popular regimes.

Comrades,

It is now twenty years that Afghanistan is in the centre of imperialist contradictions and onslaught. Our people have been prime victims of imperialist crimes. Russian social-imperialists occupied our land through the traitorous offices of their Khalqi and Parchami flunkeys and undertook a systematic campaign of slaughtering our people, particularly of decimating Afghan revolutionary entities. Unfortunately, a large number of individuals and organisations claiming to be revolutionaries in different countries, including Pakistan, turned a blind eye to all social-imperialist crimes and betrayals and stood at the side of the Russians and their despicable Afghan quislings. It is to be hoped that today, when the old Soviet Union and her satellites are no more and their Afghan lackeys are finding themselves unwanted waifs, and most of them have prostrated themselves in abject submission at the feet of the imperialists, such parties would have realised their enormous mistake and will strive to make amends.

The crass savagery and criminality of the Jihadi and Taliban fundamentalists in Afghanistan has recently given rise to the view in Pakistan that the old Khalqi and Parchami miscreants stand exonerated and that they were much better and far preferable to fundamentalists. Such circles should be given to understand that national resistance against the Russian aggression was initiated not by American flunkeys but by spontaneous popular insurrection of the Afghan masses who rose up to defend the honour, independence and sovereignty of their country. It was only later on that the United States and other western powers woke up to the opportune situation and began cultivating their flunkeys. Furthermore, despite the fact that we too believe that the fundamentalists' record of crime, treachery and savagery in Afghanistan is infinitely more infamous than that of the Russians and their myrmidons, this must never be taken as justification for exonerating the capital crimes and high treason committed by Khalqis and Parchamis. Can the reeking reactionary essence, servile dependency and abject incompetence of post-Zia-ul-Haq governments in Pakistan be a justification for Zia's decade of military dictatorship? In the eyes of the Afghan people both sides --fundamentalist savages and refined social-imperialist flunkeys-- are criminals and traitors to the motherland. The Afghan people shall exact revenge on both equally. The people of Afghanistan know full well that it was the Russian stooges, from Taraki to Najib, who committed the most inexpiable of possible crimes against their homeland and the cause of socialism by selling off their country to the Russians.

Afghanistan is today a wrestling arena for Western imperialistic powers, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, India, Russia, some newly independent states of the former Soviet Union and other stakeholders. Each of these foreign players unreservedly back their local flunkeys and in the process are tearing our country apart. Our people are in the throes of the most difficult and most mournful period of the historical existence of their homeland, the tragedy of which is most inadequately reflected and reported in international media. With the coming to power of the Taliban as the newest imperialist pawn in the regional chessboard, our nations finds itself at the mercy of an incredibly ignorant and anachronistic evil entity which is bent on smashing all human values with the cudgel of Islamic Sharia law and turning the Afghan homeland into a veritable inferno. Our people nurture an implacable hatred towards these criminals. Afghan revolutionaries are the sole remaining repositories of hope for our agonised people, because defence of liberty and the independence of their country and its toiling masses together with irreconcilability towards any and all forms of foreign dependency constitutes the foremost principle in their polity and struggles. Steady, calm, non-vociferous promotion of social and political awareness amongst the masses is the top priority on the work agenda of our organisation. We believe that under the present circumstances, the struggle for democracy in Afghanistan cannot but be a great and sanguinary struggle demanding great sacrifices. We avail ourselves of this opportunity to assure our Pakistani comrades and friends that the Afghanistan Liberation Organisation shall never, at the price of our blood, allow the Jihadi and Taliban enemy and their associates to rest in peace.

Dear friends,

We are all aware that reactionary fundamentalist and obscurantist forces all over the world and in our region in particular defend and support each other and have entered into a "holy alliance" against revolutionaries. The Jamaat-i-Islami of Qazi Hussain Ahmad extended unqualified support and patronage to Afghan fundamentalists, particularly to the most rabid criminal band of Golbodin Hekmatyar, throughout and after the Afghan national War of Resistance. In connivance with certain Pakistani authorities, these criminal bands embarked on a programme of hunting down Afghan revolutionaries here in Pakistan. Peshawar became the central location for the abduction, torture and assassination of revolutionary Afghan personalities and defenders of liberty. It was under such a programme of systematic extermination of true Afghan patriots and revolutionaries that the founding leader of our organisation, Comrade Dr Faiz Ahmad and over 30 of our organisation's cadres and prominent activists together with tens of patriots belonging to other revolutionary organisations were martyred. Unfortunately, we heard no voice of protest or condemnation arising from any Pakistani revolutionary organisation. Through their unqualified support and patronage of Afghan fundamentalists, Pakistani fundamentalists hypocritically shouldered the banner of support and solidarity with the people of Afghanistan. It would have been far more becoming if Pakistani revolutionary parties has shouldered such a banner in defence of our people despite the fact that reactionary forces had foisted themselves at the helm of the popular movement of the masses. As Mao Zedong had said, "It is not important which classes, which parties and which political circles or which personalities from oppressed nations participate in the revolution. Neither is it important whether they are aware of this fact or not, whether they realise it subjectively or otherwise. Until such time that they rise up against imperialism, their parties are a part of world proletarian-socialist revolution and they themselves are allies of this revolution."

In view of the homogenous essence of reactionaries in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the leftist revolutionaries of both our countries should draw closer and better understand each other and extend succour to each other in deeds. This is what proletarian internationalism, our fundamental principle, demands of us.

Comrades,

Let us here, in memory of the likes of Major Ishaq, Dr Faiz Ahmad, Qayum Rahbar and a galaxy of other departed comrades, renew our pledge to remain faithful to the last drop of blood to our path and our lofty aims, and not to falter for an instant in defending the oppressed masses and fighting imperialism and its fundamentalist and non-fundamentalist agents. In such a quest we have nothing but our blood to lose, and a world to win!

Down with reaction and imperialism!

Long live the unity of revolutionary forces around the world!

Long live Marxism, Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought!