Global economic reforms demanded

LAHORE: Farmers, workers, women, climate justice and civil society groups arranged a march in front of the US embassy near Lahore Press Club to demand major reforms to the global economic and financial system.

The march was arranged in time for the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) in Sevilla, Spain, where world leaders will meet from June 30 to July 3 to address the financing needs of the developing world.

The protest was organized by the Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee (PKRC), Labour Education Foundation (LEF), Tameer-e-Nau Women Workers Organisation, Joint Action Committee, and allied groups as part of worldwide protests held simultaneously in Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, and Latin America.

Protesters in Lahore carried placards and banners with slogans – cancel the debt, deliver climate justice, tax the rich, not the poor). Participants denounced the global financial order, which, they argued, deepens inequality, sustains debt traps, and leaves developing countries like Pakistan to bear the brunt of financial crises, rising inflation, and climate disasters caused by industrialized nations. They called for the cancellation of illegitimate and unsustainable debts, urgent delivery of climate finance in the form of public, grants-based funds instead of loans, and for the establishment of democratic, multilateral frameworks under the United Nations to address both debt and international tax injustice.

Speaking at the demonstration, Saima Zia of Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee highlighted the severe impacts of this global injustice on Pakistan’s farmers. “For decades, the people of Pakistan — especially small farmers — have paid the price for a global financial system that benefits the rich and powerful. Rising debts and climate disasters have made our lands barren and our livelihoods unsustainable. It’s time for our government and the international community to side with the people, not with profiteers. Cancel the debt, and pay for the climate damage you caused.”

Khalid Mehmood, Director of Labour Education Foundation, stressed how these crises have deepened exploitation of workers in Pakistan. “Every new IMF loan means harsher conditions for workers, wage freezes, privatization of public services, and rising inflation. Debt cancellation and a just global financial system are not abstract demands — they’re a matter of survival for Pakistan’s working class. We reject this unequal financial order and demand climate and economic justice now.”