Press Release
Pakistan’s Farmers Are Crushed by the Oppression of Capitalism, with Khilafah as the Only Relief

Crushed by Capitalism, farmers from all over Punjab have demonstrated against the government since 4th November 2020, in Lahore, the provincial capital. On 5 November, police baton charged and water cannoned farmers, whilst firing tear gas, after which a farmer tragically died in hospital. Farmers are protesting at back breaking production costs due to expensive seeds, pesticides, chemical fertilizers and electricity, whilst many farmers must pay rent as cash or crop to landlords. On top of this, wheat and sugar cane was purchased from farmers at low support prices by the authorities, but is now being sold at high prices, burdening the masses with additional costs of hundreds of billions of Rupees.

The cause of the immense suffering of Pakistan’s farmers is Capitalism. Capitalism allows taxation of agricultural inputs, such as General Sales Tax (GST) and customs duties, greatly raising the costs of seeds, pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Capitalism hands over the petroleum and electricity sectors to private ownership, resulting in rises in costs of fuel and utilities. In Capitalism, the owner of an agriculture land can extract rent as cash or crop from farmers, regardless of the state of their harvest or their hardship and indebtedness.

The Khilafah (Caliphate) alone can grant relief to the farmers, without the need for raising support prices. Islam forbids taxation upon agricultural inputs, which lowers the prices of seeds, pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Islam declares the energy sector as public property, so farmers receive electricity and fuel at affordable prices. Islam does not allow the renting of agriculture land. The owner of an agriculture land either has to cultivate his land himself, or the land is given to others to cultivate. RasuAllah (saw) said,

«مَنْ كَانَتْ لَهُ أَرْضٌ فَلْيَزْرَعْهَا أَوْ لِيَمْنَحْهَا أَخَاهُ» “Whosoever has land, let him plant upon it or grant it to his brother.” (Bukhari). It was also soundly narrated that: «نَهَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ أَنْ يُؤْخَذَ لِلْأَرْضِ أَجْرٌ أَوْ حَظٌّ»“RasulAllah (saw) forbade a rent or a share to be taken for the land” (Muslim) Furthermore Islam allows a man to become an owner of a land not owned by anyone. Bukhari related from 'Aisha (ra) that RasulAllah (saw) said,

«مَنْ أَعْمَرَ أَرْضًا لَيْسَتْ لأَحَدٍ فَهْوَ أَحَقُّ» “Whosoever cultivated a land that is not owned by anybody he is more deserving of it.” (Bukhari). The owner of agricultural land cannot leave his land without farming for three consecutive years, or that land will be given to another person who can cultivate the land. So the laws of Islam linked ownership of agricultural land with its cultivation, bringing a revolution to the agriculture sector.

O Muslims of Pakistan! The capitalist system first crippled Pakistan’s industry and is now destroying its agriculture and it must be abolished to secure the long-suffering farmers. Strive to re-establish the Khilafah (Caliphate) on the Method of Prophethood which will make Pakistan an agriculture giant by implementing Islamic laws regarding agriculture.

Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir
in Wilayah Pakistan