CCC calls for immediate release of union activist Iqbal Abro
The Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) strongly condemns the enforced disappearance, illegal detention, and subsequent arrest of Comrade Iqbal Abro, a committed trade union activist associated with CCC member organisation the National Trade Union Federation (NTUF). Reports confirm that he was missing from the Korangi Industrial Area for four days and was later produced before an Anti-Terrorism Court, where he has been placed on three days’ remand. The use of anti-terror laws and the levelling of grave allegations—such as extortion and links with proscribed groups—against a labour organiser is deeply alarming and raises serious concerns about the safety of labour activists and the shrinking space for workers’ rights and democratic freedoms in Pakistan.
Iqbal Abro has been actively involved in organising workers, including at Towellers Limited Industries, and in raising his voice against unjust retrenchments, intimidation, and exploitation in industrial areas. Targeting a trade union activist for peacefully advocating labour rights is a direct attack on fundamental rights, including freedom of association and expression, and a violation of Pakistan’s obligations under international labour standards, including ILO conventions on freedom of association and collective bargaining. CCC is particularly concerned because publicly available trade information indicates that Towellers Limited Industries is part of international supply chains, including exports linked to major global brands such as Inditex (Zara) and the Italian brand Teddy. Brands and retailers sourcing from Pakistan cannot remain silent when workers and union activists in their supply chains face repression; responsible human rights due diligence requires urgent action when trade unionists are persecuted for organising.
Despite petitions reportedly filed at the police station, before the Sindh High Court, and with the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, the authorities failed to recover the disappeared labour leader. Workers were forced to mobilise and held a peaceful protest on 10 January outside the Karachi Press Club against his disappearance, alleged torture, and threats to his life. Instead of investigating those responsible, senior officers reportedly sought to shield the perpetrators by shifting blame onto the victim through baseless accusations. Only after sustained pressure from labour and human rights organisations did the authorities attempt to retroactively “regularise” an unlawful detention through procedural manipulation: after days of illegal custody, a false FIR was reportedly registered on 11 January, his arrest was later “shown” on 12 January, and he was produced before the Anti-Terrorism Court on 13 January—exposing this episode as a calculated assault on workers’ rights and the right to organise.
CCC expresses full solidarity with Iqbal Abro, his family, his comrades, and the broader labour movement. We demand his immediate and unconditional release, the withdrawal of fabricated charges, and an end to the misuse of anti-terror laws against trade unionists. We further demand an independent and impartial investigation into his disappearance, illegal detention, alleged torture, and the conduct of the officials involved, followed by accountability for all perpetrators. CCC also calls for guarantees of safety for Comrade Iqbal Abro, his family, his legal counsel, and union colleagues, and an end to all forms of harassment, intimidation, and surveillance of labour activists.
We urge the Government of Pakistan, the Sindh authorities, and law enforcement institutions to uphold due process, constitutional rights, and international commitments. We also call on international brands and buyers linked to the relevant supply chains to take immediate and public steps consistent with responsible business conduct: insist on the protection of workers and trade unionists, support remedy, and ensure that no supplier benefits from repression. CCC reiterates that the labour movement will not be silenced through fear, abductions, fabricated cases, or the weaponisation of anti-terror legislation.
The immediate release of Iqbal Abro is imperative. An injury to one is an injury to all.