MQM insurrection (1978–1992)

Insurrection in Karachi and Hyderabad, Pakistan

First MQM insurrection

Part of MQM Militancy
| Date| 1972–1992

|

Location|

Karachi and Hyderabad

Result|  Start of Operation Cleanup
Belligerents

MQM

* APSMO

Pakistan

* Pakistan Army

Sindh

* Police
* Rangers

* IJT

* * *

STPP

* * *

Armed Afghan migrants
Units involved
APSMO|  Pakistan Army
Sindh Police
Sindh Rangers|

IJT

* * *

STPP

* * *

Armed Afghan migrants
Casualties and losses
1,000+ killed

In between 1972 and 1992, MQM's first insurrection came to an end following Pakistan government's Operation Cleanup conducted in order to destroy the MQM stronghold in Karachi.

## Background

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The ancestor of the MQM was the All Pakistan Muttahidda Students Organization (APMSO), drew its support from muhajir defectors from the heavily armed Islami Jamiat ut-Taleba(IJT). A large number of Jamaat-i-Islami members who were ethnic Muhajirs shifted their loyalties to the MQM overnight, resulting in the elimination of the former influence of the Jamaat. APMSO was radicalised when in 1985-86 the first (of the many) major ethnic clashes took place between Karachi.[1] Faced by the superior and sophisticated firepower brought in by Afghan refugees, MQM dispatched a delegation of APMSO members to Hyderabad to meet a militant group from the Sindhi nationalist student organisation, the JSSF. APMSO were given some small firearms by PSF in the early 1980s, but it was JSSF that sold the APMSO its first large cache of AK-47s that were then used to tame the heavily armed IJT in 1987 and 1988, eventually breaking IJT's hold at KU and in various other state-owned campuses in Karachi. Amidst ethnic violence, MQM's armed wings used street fighting and urban warfare which sought to use violence to control governing structures and appointments such as the Karachi Port Trust, Karachi Municipal Corporation and the Karachi Developmental Authority.[2] During the MQM's stint in power in 1991, when it was part of the provincial government of Sindh, the party endorsed and participated in raids and the mass-arrests of its political rivals. Additionally, the MQM, supported by the government, was accused of operating as a mafia organization where its heavily armed militants used extortion and coercion to increase their influence.[3]

## Extortions and allegations of violence

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The MQM's initial source of funding relied on Zakat, voluntary donations from its members. However, in the 1990s, the MQM adopted a new approach called "Bhatta" or forced tax and protection money collection from commercial areas in Karachi. The party also resorted to illegal funding methods such as bank robberies in 1988.[4] The "Bhattia" mafia extorted money from various professionals, including traders, businessmen, bankers, doctors, teachers, construction workers, and religious figures. This illegal funding scheme blurred the lines between politics and crime in Karachi, as some criminal groups transformed into political parties' armed wings.[5][6]

MQM has allegedly resorted to violence against journalists and media outlets critical of the party's violent activities.[7] Starting from 1991, the MQM engaged in destructive activities against newspapers that criticized them, with members of the group involved in looting and burning down offices. In fact, the management of Herald publications in Karachi had to suspend the distribution of the Dawn newspaper on March 21, 1991, after what it called a week-long "terror campaign" carried out by the MQM which involved abductions, intimidation, and attacks against newspaper vendors, distributors, and hawkers.[8]

## Pakka Qila Operation (26, 27 May 1990)

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Main article: Pucca Qila Massacre

Operation was launched by Sindh Police to target MQM workers in Pakka Qilla Hyderabad. Over 250 besieged innocent men, women, children was massacred during the operation which carried on for 275 hours before Pakistan army men eventually moved in.[9]

## References

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1. ^ Nadeem Paracha (August 23, 2012). "Born to Run: The Rise and Leveling of APMSO".
2. ^ Michael R. Glass, Phil Williams, Taylor B. Seybolt (January 13, 2022). Urban Violence, Resilience and Security Governance Responses in the Global South. Edward Elgar. p. 146\. ISBN 9781800379732.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
3. ^ Vazira Fazila-Yacoobali (1996). "The Battlefields of Karachi: Ethnicity, Violence and the State". The Journal of the International Institute. 4 (1).
4. ^ Gunaratna, Rohan; Iqbal, Khuram (2019). Pakistan:Terrorism Ground Zero. Reaktion Books. ISBN 9781780230092.
5. ^ Gholam Mujtaba (2018). The Political Ecology of Pakistan. FriesenPress. p. 40\. ISBN 9781525534614.
6. ^ Wennmann, Achim; Jütersonke, Oliver (7 December 2018). Urban Safety and Peacebuilding New Perspectives on Sustaining Peace in the City. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781351371346.
7. ^ Niloufer A. Siddiqui (2022). Under the Gun:Political Parties and Violence in Pakistan. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781009242493.
8. ^ Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Report Submitted to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, U.S. House of Representatives and Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate by the Department of State in Accordance with Sections 116(d) and 502B(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as Amended · Volume 1991. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1992. ISBN 9780160373930.
9. ^ "Hyderabad: MQM's Pucca Qila". DAWN.COM. 2007-12-21. Retrieved 2017-01-07.