By: Farooq Tariq: A prominent labour leader Master Khudad Khan was killed in suicidal attack in Peshawar on 15 October. He was on his way for a meeting and was passing by an intelligence center when a religious fanatic blew himself killing him and several others on the spot.
The unfortunate side of this episode is that the body of Master Khudad is not handed over to his relatives. A picture of the dead bodies printed in a local paper confirmed the relatives on 18 October that Master Khudad is among the victims.
He was missing from home since 15 October and there was no clue of him.
Master Khudad was the deputy general secretary of Pakistan Workers Confederation, a founding member of Bonded Labour Liberation Front and was a close friend of Ihsan Ullah Khan, who lives in exile in Sweden.
Pakistan Worker Confederation is the main body of trade unions in Pakistan.
Master Khudad was elected provincial information secretary of Labour Party Pakistan in its founding congress held on 21 November 2004 in North West Frontier Province. He remained a committed member of LPP till his death.
Master Khudad was one of the very few labour leaders of the province who had organized the working class all their lives.
I had not many meetings with him but when he accepted our invitation to join LPP and took active part in mobalising the membership for the two days founding congress of LPP in 2004, I had a chance to discuss with him in detail. He accepted to be part of the leadership.
Master khudad main contribution to the working class movement in Pakistan has been his role in establishing Bonded Labour Liberation Front (BLLF). He helped many to flee from the chains of slavery.
Farooq Ahmad member national executive committee LPP in collaboration of others is launching a campaign to recover his body.
This is the second main leader of LPP who have lost his life in a suicidal attack. Earlier Abdullah Qureshi, a senior leader of LPP was killed in December 2007 in Matta, Swat by a religious fanatics in a suicidal attack.
Here is a part of press report printed by Daily News on September 2007.
Grave concern voiced over growing child labour
The News September 9, 2007
By our correspondent
PESHAWAR: Expressing grave concern over growing child labour in the country, speakers at a workshop here on Saturday said that weak implementation of the relevant laws, besides poverty and lack of education, were the root causes of this social menace and called for joint efforts by all stake holders to eliminate this curse.
The day long workshop on 'Activating Media in Combating Worst Forms of Child Labour in Pakistan' was arranged by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
for the capacity-building of print media personnel.
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Master Khudadad mentioned that surgical instruments, mining, manufacturing, glass bangles, tanneries, coal mines, rag pickers scavengers, deep-sea fishing, child domestic workers, child trafficking, carpet weaving, street children, bonded-labour, beggary were the worst forms of child labour in Pakistan.
