International Labor Day observed in the metropolis

KARACHI, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st May, 2026) Workers, political activists, trade unionists, and representatives of human rights organizations participated in the Mazdoor Rally jointly organized by the National Trade Union Federation Pakistan (NTUF) and Home Based Women Workers Federation (HBWWF) and allied organizations on the occasion of International Workers’ Day here on Friday.

The rally, held in memory of the May Day martyrs, was led by the federation’s senior leader, Comrade Gul Rehman and Industrial Global Union Textile Garments Sector Co-Chairperson and general secretary of HBWWF, Comrade Zehra Khan.

Thousands of workers from various industrial establishments, journalists, teachers, lawyers, political activists, and women workers participated in the event.

The participants marched with red flags, banners, and placards carrying their demands.

They also carried portraits of revolutionary leaders, including Karl Marx, Lenin, Rosa Luxemburg, Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, Hugo Chávez, Shaheed Hassan Nasir, Shaheed Nazir Abbasi, Mai Bakhtawar, Comrade Hyder Bakhsh Jatoi, Comrade Shanti Bukhari, and others whose struggles symbolize resistance to exploitation and oppression.

The rally began from Regal Chowk and concluded at the Karachi Press Club, where labor leaders addressed a large workers’ gathering.

They said that the martyrs of May Day raised the banner of revolt against capitalist oppression one hundred and forty years ago, and their sacrifice continues to illuminate the path of the working class today.

Speaking on the occasion, Zehra Khan of HBWWF termed climate change a central issue for the labor movement and stated that the majority of those affected by environmental destruction belong to the working class.

She said that nineteen thousand workers die every year as a result of climate-related impacts. Heatwaves, another manifestation of climate collapse, were causing mental and physical exhaustion among workers.