MQM insurrection (1978–1992)

In between 1972 and 1992, MQM militants launched multiple attacks against the Sindh government and civilians in order to get a stronghold over Karachi. The first insurrection came to an end following Pakistan government's Operation Cleanup conducted in order to destroy the MQM stronghold in Karachi.

First MQM insurrection
Part of MQM Militancy
Date 1972–1992 Location Karachi and Hyderabad Result Start of Operation Cleanup
Belligerents
MQM	Pakistan Sindh Karachi	JI IJT STPP Armed Afghan immigrants
Units involved
MQM APSMO	Pakistan Pakistan Police Pakistan Rangers Sindh Sindh Police Sindh Rangers	IJT STPP Armed Afghan immigrants
Casualties and losses
1000+ killed

Background

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 clashes took place between Karachi's Muhajir and Pushtun communities.^[1] Faced by the superior 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. Admist ethnic violence, MQM's armed wings used street fighting and urban warfare as ethnic Muhajirs 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]

Ethnic violence

The first victims of the MQM in the 1980s were primarily ethnic Pashtuns, who were generally targeted on trivial grounds which the MQM did its best to exacerbate.^[4] In 1985, a bus accident led to the death of Bushra Zaidi, by an Azad Kashmiri Punjabi driver,^[5][6][7] ignited tensions and resulted in riots in Orangi Town of Karachi. Mobs, especially university students, attacked ethnic Pashtuns and policemen, blaming the ethnic group for car accidents in the city, resulting in the killings of over 100 people.^{[6][8][9][10]} During the riots, the APMSO printed and distributed inflammatory pamphlets against the ethnic group, grounding the city to a halt and shutting down educational institutions.^[11] On September 30, 1988,^[12] hundreds of people, mostly Muhajirs,^[12] were killed in Hyderabad, Sindh in what was known as "Black Friday". The death toll was above 250,^[13] and the attacks are said to have been coordinated and carried out by Sindhi nationalist militants.^[12] Unidentified gunmen opened fire on large crowds of innocent bystanders, including women and children, in Latifabad. The MQM accused Qadir Magsi and nationalists carrying out the attack.^[14]

The following day Sindhis were killed in ethnic rioting which killed at least 46 people.^[15] A curfew was enforced in both Karachi and Hyderabad.^[16] In total over 200+ people died by MQM retaliation in the span of two days. In 1990, in a response to a police raid on MQM militants which caused the deaths of 60 Muhajirs civilians,^[17][18] MQM retaliatory attacks led to the deaths of 130 Sindhis.^[19][20]

Extortion

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.^[21] 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.^[22][23]

Attacks on journalists

MQM has allegedly resorted to violence against journalists and media outlets critical of the party's violent activities.^[24] 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.^[25]

Pakka Qila Operation (26, 27 May 1990)

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.^[26]