Pakistan activists demand people first economy as the world commemorates Global Day to Fight Inequality

4 July 2026

Lahore — From artists and academics to farmers’ leaders, trade unionists, students, and civil society groups, activists gathered at the Fight Inequality Festival in Lahore to demand a new economic system that prioritizes people over profit and billionaire interests. The festival, held at the HRCP Auditorium on the eve of the inaugural Global Day to Fight Inequality (GDFI) amplified the voices of the 99% calling for urgent change.

The GDFI marks a global moment when ordinary people unite to expose how inequality is manufactured, share lived experiences of the cost of living crisis and present alternatives rooted in justice and sustainability.

At the festival, culture, ideas, and people’s movements challenged the dominant narrative that “inequality is inevitable.” Activists underscored that inequality is the result of political and economic choices that must be corrected through collective action and progressive policies focused on people and the planet.

Speakers highlighted how rising public debt, forced austerity, privatization of public services, corporate control over agriculture, and soaring living costs are crushing the majority. They called for a shift away from a rigged economic system that enriches a privileged minority, the 1%, while forcing the 99% to survive on meagre wages and insecure livelihoods.

Renowned poets Dr. Khalid Javed Jan, Baba Najmi, and Irfan Comrade gave voice to the struggles of workers, peasants, women, and marginalized communities trapped in the current system. Ajoka Theatre’s satire exposed the paradoxes of power, inequality, and exclusion, reinforcing the need for collective resistance.

On debt justice, Khaliq Shah of the Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt (CADTM) warned that Pakistan’s mounting debt burden is stifling development and imposing harsh austerity measures that slash investment in health, education, and social protection.

The festival reaffirmed that the true test of an economy is not pockets of wealth but whether everyone can live with dignity, earn decent wages, access to quality universal public services and goods and fair taxation.

Activists outlined the pillars of a fair, just, and people centered economy that Pakistan needs which include:

• Progressive taxation
• Universal social protection
• Investment in public education and healthcare
• Cancellation of illegitimate public debt
• Protection of workers’ rights
• Support for agroecological farming over corporate-driven agriculture

Fight Inequality Alliance, a global movement that organises to counter the concentration of power and wealth in the hands of a small elite. On this Global Day to Fight Inequality, FIA Pakistan stands with the workers, market traders, informal sector earners, and millions of ordinary households bearing the unequal brunt of this cost-of-living crisis and demands urgent action.

MEDIA CONTACT

Haris Ahmad Khan I Fight Inequality Alliance Pakistan I haris.khan@fightinequality.org I 0305-8764942