Mazdoor Kisan Party - Mass Base

Mass Base

The primary mass base of the MKP was the peasantry of NWFP and the organised workers of Punjab. The peasants were mostly directly members of the party while the workers were organised through other organisations affiliated with the MKP. The main worker mass organisation was the All Pakistan Trade Union Federation (APTUF) led by Mirza Ibrahim. Mirza Ibrahim was himself a member of the MKP’s Central Working Committee. The APTUF was the largest trade union federation in Pakistan and thus contributed greatly to the MKP.

Although the MKP had always been quite weak among the urban middle class groups it did manage getting a good number of members from amongst lawyers, journalists, college teachers and other white-collar professions.

The MKP had very little support among students although its own student wing, the Sarhad Students’ Federation did merge with the Pushtoon Students Organisation in Baluchistan (An affiliate of the PNAP) thereby forming the Pushtoonkhwa Students Organisation (PSO).

A separate front organisation for women was not created within the MKP. Still, many activists from the Women’s Action Forum were members or sympathisers of the MKP and the APTUF also had a strong women’s part.

The MKP had a great focus on political education. It published a large number of books,magazines and pamphlets.Sher Ali Bacha was the main editor of these magazines and pamphlets including the weekly “Sanobar” which was closed down in 1971 and the monthly “Circular” running from 1972 to 1978.