Like the global labour movement, Pakistan’s workers’ movement has also witnessed waves of ebb and flow. From the earliest days of independence until today, it has faced persistent state opposition. Our country’s emerging industrialists and capitalists always treated it as an adversary, leaving no opportunity to suppress or crush it.
Yet, despite this hostility, it is also a fact that the labour class produced individuals who sacrificed their lives without ever compromising on principles or workers’ rights. Among these leading figures was Usman Ghani, who was martyred in broad daylight on 17 September 1995.
“He gave his life, for it was His to give, yet the truth is, the debt was never repaid.”
Today marks the 30th anniversary of Usman Ghani’s martyrdom. A son of Sindh and an immortal character in Pakistan’s labour struggle, he was born in Karachi’s historic Chanesar Goth. True to his roots, he never left his ancestral neighbourhood.
From Banker to Labour Leader
Usman Ghani began his professional career at Muslim Commercial Bank (MCB). Politically, he was affiliated with the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). At MCB, he became deeply involved in trade union activities, soon emerging as a champion of workers’ rights. He was elected President of the Collective Bargaining Agent (CBA) union and later rose to become a central leader of the bank’s trade union federation.
He went on to serve as Deputy Secretary-General of the Pakistan Banks’ Employees Federation, one of the most influential nationwide labour organisations of the 1970s to 1990s. With remarkable speed and resilience, Usman Ghani established himself as a vanguard of Pakistan’s workers’ movement.
His journey was not without sacrifice. He faced repeated imprisonment for his activism. His first arrest came while he was addressing a protest meeting at the MCB head office. This marked the beginning of a series of detentions that continued until the final years of his life.
In early 1991, his last arrest took place during a nationwide strike organised by the All Pakistan State Enterprises Workers’ Action Committee (APSEWAC) against privatisation. Employees across nearly all major industrial and commercial institutions participated in this strike. In retaliation, Usman Ghani was arrested from his office at MCB’s head office. The author of this piece, too, was arrested a few days later while addressing a protest rally against Ghani’s detention. Both were sent to Karachi Central Jail, and only released after the Nawaz Sharif government privatised MCB.
A Life of Struggle and Sacrifice
Usman Ghani’s life is defined by three significant dimensions:
He was a prominent national labour leader, who devoted his entire life to the struggle for workers’ rights.
He was a dedicated PPP loyalist, enjoying the closeness and trust of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto. Indeed, it was Usman Ghani who played a key role in convincing her to establish the Peoples Labour Bureau.
He was a social worker, who lived among the poor of Chanesar Goth, serving them selflessly. To this day, the people of his community remember him with tears in their eyes.
This great labour leader’s journey was cut short when ruthless assassins ambushed him on the morning of 17 September 1995, as he left his home for work. He was shot dead near a bridge close to his residence. (Inna Lillahi wa Inna Ilayhi Raji’un).
A Legacy That Lives On
History takes strange turns. Usman Ghani’s killers and their backers may have believed they had extinguished a flame, but they forgot that one flame can ignite countless others. Usman departed after a life of struggle, but his son Saeed Ghani carried forward the torch.
Choosing the same thorny path of politics, Saeed entered public life at a young age. Beginning with local government politics, he went on to become a Senator, later resigning of his own accord. He has since been elected Member of the Sindh Assembly three times with overwhelming majorities, served as Minister of Labour, Minister of Education, and currently holds the key portfolio of Local Government. Within the PPP, he rose from grassroots levels to now serve as President of Karachi Division, enjoying the full confidence of Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. A self-made politician, Saeed Ghani carries with him the hopes and expectations of both Sindh and Karachi.
The Eternal Flame of Resistance
Reflecting on Usman Ghani’s life, it must be remembered that he entered the trade union movement at a time when dictatorship gripped the country and labour activism was treated as an unforgivable crime. In that darkness, he lit a candle of resistance and kept it burning until his martyrdom.
In truth, by extinguishing his life, the oppressive forces of society sought revenge from the working class itself. But history proves that however dark and long the night, the dawn of justice cannot be stopped.
Even today, the labour movement in Pakistan continues its struggle for justice, and at every stage of its success, it will remember Shaheed Usman Ghani with gratitude for his sacrifices.