• by IPS Correspondents (karachi)
• Thursday, November 17, 1994
• Inter Press Service

KARACHI, Nov 17 (IPS) - ETHNIC, POLITICAL AND SECTARIAN VIOLENCE HAS RAVAGED PAKISTAN'S RICHEST CITY, KARACHI, CATAPULTING IT TO CENTRE-STAGE AS ONE OF THE MAJOR TROUBLE SPOTS ON PRIME MINISTER BENAZIR BHUTTO'S POLITICAL AGENDA.

THE ARMY, CALLED IN BY THE PREVIOUS GOVERNMENT TO HELP CIVILIAN FORCES MAINTAIN LAW AND ORDER TWO YEARS AGO, HAS BROUGHT THE SITUATION UNDER CONTROL TO A CERTAIN EXTENT, BUT IT HAS ALSO FURTHER ALIENATED A MILITANT ETHNIC-POLITICAL PARTY THAT IS ABLE TO PARALYSE THE 10 MILLION-STRONG COMMERCIAL HUB AT WILL.

THE ARMY CRACKDOWN ON THE MOHAJIR QUAMI MOVEMENT (MQM) HAS LED TO A SPLIT WITHIN THE PARTY WITH EACH FACTION BAYING FOR THE OTHERS' BLOOD. A TRAIL OF CORPSES OF POLITICAL ACTIVISTS IN DAILY GUN BATTLES AND A NUMBER OF INNOCENT CIVILIANS CAUGHT IN THE CROSS-FIRE HAS BEEN THE RESULT.

THE MQM REPRESENTS THE MOHAJIRS OR URDU SPEAKING MIGRANTS WHO CAME IN FROM INDIA WHEN THE SUBCONTINENT WAS PARTITIONED BY DEPARTING BRITISH COLONIAL RULERS IN 1947.

THE PARTY SAYS MOJAHIRS HAVE GOT A RAW DEAL IN TERMS OF JOBS, EDUCATION AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES AND HAS COME INTO OPEN CONFLICT WITH SINDHIS WHO DOMINATE THE COUNTRYSIDE AND CONTROL SINDH'S PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT, OF WHICH KARACHI IS THE CAPITAL.

THOUSANDS HAVE DIED IN THE ETHNIC WARFARE BETWEEN SINDHIS AND MOHAJIRS. MQM'S FOUNDER, ALTAF HUSSAIN, HAS FLED TO LONDON TO ESCAPE THREATS TO HIS LIFE AND CHARGES OF MURDER.

HUSSAIN, WHO IS SOMETHING OF A CULT FIGURE IN THE CITY, REGULARLY ADDRESSES HIS FOLLOWERS THROUGH A PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEM LINKED TO THE TELEPHONE OR THROUGH VIDEO RECORDINGS OF HIS HIGHLY EMOTIVE SPEECHES.

HE EXACERBATED TENSIONS IN THE VOLATILE CITY WHEN HE RECENTLY CALLED FOR THE PARTITION OF SINDH INTO THE MOHAJIR-CONTROLLED CITY AND THE SINDHI-DOMINATED COUNTRYSIDE.

HUSSAIN, WHO NOW HEADS THE MQM (ALTAF) FACTION AS OPPOSED TO THE MQM (HAQIQI) FACTION HEADED BY AFAQ AHMED, BLAMES INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES FOR THE MAYHEM IN THE CITY, BUT INDEPENDENT ANALYSTS SAY ALL POLITICAL PARTIES IN KARACHI HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN VIOLENCE AND THE TORTURE OF POLITICAL OPPONENTS.

DISTORTED CORPSES LITTERING ABANDONED BUILDINGS ARE A COMMON SIGHT AND THE CORPSES USUALLY BELONG TO ACTIVISTS OF EITHER OF THE MQM FACTIONS.

© Inter Press Service (2014) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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