The North Punjab Regional congress of the Pakistani section of the IMT was held on February 28th, in Rawalpindi. More than 150 comrades from Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Attock, Taxila-Wah and Abbottabad areas participated in the gathering, including trade union comrades, the PTUDC, People's Youth Organization, JKNSF, YFIS and BNT.

The North Punjab Regional congress of the IMT's Pakistani section was held on Sunday, February 28, in Rawalpindi. More than 150 comrades from Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Attock, Taxila-Wah and Abbottabad areas participated in the gathering. Also present were comrades from the Trade Unions, the PTUDC (Pakistan Trade Union Defence Campaign), YFIS (Youth For International Socialism), BNT (Berozgar Naujawan Tehreek) and traditional youth organisations such as the PYO (People's Youth Organization) and JKNSF (Jammu Kashmir National Student Federation). The programme was chaired by comrade Zafar.

We are publishing here a speech given by Phil Mitchinson at the 2005 International Marxist school in Barcelona. Dealing with the history of the centuries old struggle for freedom in Ireland, and the part played in that history by republicanism and socialism, as well as the political developments that have led to the current impasse. Phil, who died tragically in 2006 at the age of 38 would have celebrated his 42nd Birthday on 25th February. His commitment to the revolutionary ideas of Marxism and his boundless optimism were an inspiration to the lucky few who knew him well. Phil needs no monument, his ideas and his spirit are testament enough. Phil was instrumental in the pioneering work that made this website possible and for that we are eternally grateful.  We will finish what he started.

The Editors

Fightback is the online journal of the International Marxist Tendency in Ireland. IMT Ireland seeks to bring together those Marxists in Ireland who recognise the need to develop a strong Marxist Tendency within the Labour movement and among the Youth across the whole of the Island of Ireland. We base ourselves on the ideas of Karl Marx, Frederick Engels, VI Lenin, James Connolly and Leon Trotsky; the basic principles of the marxist movement. Over the past few months we have been extremely encouraged by the response that we have had to this website. We now have regular readers in Dublin, Belfast, Galway, Cork, Limerick, Derry, Waterford, Kilkenny,Wexford; Leixlip and a number of smaller towns as well as over 54 countries internationally. We are confident that our perspectives and analysis have been borne out by events and we would encourage you to read the articles posted on the site. We know as well that our articles have been translated and reprinted in Spanish, Portugese, Catalan, Italian, Dutch and German as well as other languages and have been circulated throughout Latin America and Europe. We would urge you to read our material and study the theoretical stuff that we have reproduced.

Most importantly we'd urge you to join with us in the fight for Socialism.

Bolshevik day, as the anniversary of the Russian revolution is known here, was celebrated with great enthusiasm across Pakistan in 30 cities in which large numbers of workers, peasants and youth participated. Here we provide reports and pictures sent in by the comrades of the Pakistan Trade Union Defence Campaign locally.