Syed Hassan Tanwir Wasti wrote:
Military Developed Leaders & Politicians against military rule now.
Dear Lets have a new debate
Mr Nawaz Sharif so called champion of democracy and defending constituion of Pakistan had violated the 1973 constitution when General Zial ul Haq has appointed him as a finance minister of Punjab. Why he is crying now.
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Dear Wasti Sahab,
Irfan Sahab says that I single out Generals, well they ought to be singled out because they enjoyed and abused powers therefore they must share the responsibility for creating Ethnic and Sectarian Hatred in remaining Pakistan to save their selfish interests. I wonder where is the Quran from which Irfan Sahab quote quite often?
Why dont you discuss this creation of General Ziaul Haq, and this creation of General Ziaul Haq is nowadays Musharraf's key supporter and ally! And another Creation of General Ziaul Haq whose sons are allies of General Musharraf as well.
Very correctly had been pointed out by Late Syed Ghulam Mustafa Shah "that Jam Sadiq Ali in his government in 1990 with the tacit approval of the Military Establishment [Ghulam Ishaq Khan, BCCI's Agha Hasan Abidi, General Javed Nasir, General Asad Durrani] had bought out this so-called Sann Jo Saeen Jiey Sadaeen also a Peer and other Peer Altaf Hussain by opening a Jumma Bazaar [Friday Sales Market] of so-called Sindhi and Urdu Speaking Nationalists of Sindh in Sindh Assembly. The same thing is being done by Musharraf in Sindh since 12 Oct 1999 with the above mentioned categories. Half of the Musharraf's Sindh Assembly [2002-2007] was the by product of same Jam Sadiq Ali tactics even some members were cultivated by Jam Sadiq Ali with tacit connivance of Ghulam Ishaq Khan-BCCI-Military Industrial Complex and US Military Establishment as well. You are telling me that G M Syed was a force to reckon with. It was Jam Sadiq Ali that was force to reckon with even now the above groups didnt even know what hit them in those years, when Jam Sadiq Ali had said sarcastically to late. Saeen Syed Ghulam Mustafa Shah "Saeen to keep them [above groups] you need Harami [Bastard] like me". The parties above still licking their wounds.
Quote from a book:
"G. M. Syed lived to make other ill-conceived moves. When in 1983, under Zia, Sindhi blood was being spilled mercilessly, he stood aloof."
G. M. Syed- An analysis of his Political Perspectives by M. S. Korejo.
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General Zia and General Jahandad Khan [then Governor Sindh] used to be regular visitors of "Sann Jo Saeen Jeay Sadaaen" when he was being treated for his illness in an Hospital in Karachi. Photos were very cordial, Khakis were all around Ghulam Murtaza Shah Kazmi aka G M SYED [G M Syed used to say that Maudoodi was a great Scholar of Islam in Pakistan and there was no match of Maudoodi in Pakistan}
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Quote from another book:
"G M Syed is a great tragedy of Sindh. He descended from Himalyan heights to play the stooge to forces he had always considered inimical to Sindh. His is indeed a great fall. During more than three quarters of the century, he began his life as a rebel against the British. He had come in politics in his late teens. He was instrumental in getting the anti one unit resolution of 1957 passed. He had great comrades in Maulana Abdul Qadir, Shaikh Abdul Majeed Sindh, and Haider Bux Jatoi. It appears with their death he went at a tangent on a wrong track. It is surprising how life can change the status and the image of a man. It is surprising that at this mature and real old age he should succumb to power and temptation [Page 40]
JAM THE MAN AND HIS POLITICS BY Late Sayid Ghulam Mustafa Shah.
MQM was thoroughly nurtured into a Frankenstein’s Monster by General Zia and his rogue establishment to counter PPP in Sindh. It was impossible for MQM to develop itself out of nowhere in a very ruthless Martial Law in the history of Pakistan because the consequences and effects of Zia’s ruthless and anti-Islamic policies are still being felt. General Zia ul Haq was powerful and sole power in Pakistan [like General Musharraf is now] in those days and the then Prime Minister of Pakistan late. Muhammad Khan Junejo was just a Democratic Façade of General Zia’s ruthless Military Establishment specifically the ISI, like present Democratic Façade of Prime Ministers Zafarullah Jamali, Chuadary Shujaat Hussain and Shaukat Aziz but the real power was with General Zia then and real power is with Musharraf now.
General Zia very secretly and invisibly nurtured the nemesis {i.e MQM, SSP, SMP and other Jihadi Mafias} of Jamat-e-Islami and other Political Parties of the Federation {whatever of it was left after the fall}. If you would follow the MQM’s history you would see that MQM gained power during the days of General Zia ul Haq. I am chronologically giving the speeches of MQM’s Founder Mr. Altaf Hussain to carefully read the dates of his speeches were the days of General Zia, even the date of birth of MQM was in the year 1978 {First year after General Zia ul Haq imposed the Martial Law}. In those days General Zia and his Military goons only allowed the Jamat-e-Islami to do politics and no other political party was allowed any political activities. Since every now and then you would have noticed that political leaders alleged that it was Bhutto who formed the political cell in ISI to watch out for opposition and that cell was never abolished and it even works now so how it can be possible that Zia had no knowledge of MQM was coming into being.
MQM's first-ever public meeting at Karachi's Nishtar park on August 8, 1986, was marked by heavy aerial firing from the; pistols and rifles which the party activists were carrying on them. On that day, windowpanes of a traffic police kiosk opposite Quaid-e-Azam's mausoleum were broken, and stones were pelted on petrol pump near Gurumandir. Addressing the rally, Altaf Hussain said: "Karachi is no more mini-Pakistan. We will accept help no matter where it comes from, from east or west, north or south" (dailies Jang, Jasarat and other newspapers of August 9, 1986).
Two months later, on October 25, 1986, while addressing a press conference at Hyderabad Press Club, Altaf Hussain told the Mohajir youth to "collect arms. If our rights are not given to us, we will use every kind of force". On October 31, while addressing a public meeting at Hyderabad's Pakka Qila, he said: "At first we fought for freedom. Now that we have freedom, we are searching for a country" (daily Amn, Nov 1, 1986).
Riots broke out in Karachi the same evening. Twelve persons were killed, 25 wagons, autorickshaws and motorbikes were set on fire, and four houses and eight shops were torched.
Riots spread to Hyderabad where seven persons were shot dead in two days. Curfew was clamped in both cities to contain violence, and Altaf Hussain alongwith ten others was arrested by he police on November 2 for attempt to murder and rioting. Nine other MQM activists were also taken into custody and firearms recovered from their possession, whereas 63 persons from other parties to the rioting were arrested from Sohrab Goth area. On November 3, ten persons were killed in hand-grenade attacks in Orangi Town area while six others died in street trouble, brining the week's death toll in Karachi to 52.
On November 18, armed MQM activists fired in the air to disrupt a cricket match in Hyderabad's Niaz Stadium. On November 21, at the end of a one-day cricket match between Pakistan and West Indies, armed MQM activists blocked all roads leading to Karachi's National Stadium. 30 persons received bullet wounds in indiscriminate firing in the Liaquatabad. Teen Hatti, Gulbahar, Orangi, Sabzi Mandi, Nazimabad and other areas of the city. A bank was burnt in Liaquatabad, while a bus was put on fire on Shahrah-e-Quaideen. One November 22, three buses and an oil tanker were burnt in Landhi, while a branch of the National Bank was ransacked and torched in Liaquatabad.
Another government bus and a minibus were burnt in Malir and Old Numaish, and several buses were pelted with stones on November 23. On November 24, 11 vehicles were burnt down in New Karachi, Federal B' Area, Paposhnagar, Gulbahar and Nasirabad. On November 28, armed clashes between MQM activists and the police took place in Hyderabad during which five bank branches were damaged and one bus put on fire.
MQM announced a strike in Karachi on December 9 and asked its followers to remain peaceful. The 'peaceful' strike led to the burning of 11 vehicles and seven bank branches. One youngster was killed, and nearly 40 wounded in indiscriminate firing. Demonstrators pelted stones on the police and a bomb was blasted near Liaquatabad police station. The police became helpless against protesters" (daily Amn). On December 14, MQM's secretary general Dr Imran Farooq stated that the situation could be brought under control only if Altaf Hussain and his companions were freed.
That night, 50 persons lost lives during ghastly manslaughter in Orangi Town. The army was called in and curfew clamped. According to newspapers, the entire Ghetto Township had passed into the hands of a group of klashnikov-weilding youngsters. 70 more persons were killed on December 15.
According to available statistics, as many as 173 persons were sacrificed on the alter of MQM struggle for rights, while 10 banks, 75 vehicles 24 houses and 20 shops were burnt during the last 153 days of 1986. The battle for Karachi's so-called rights had begun. On December 20, MQM Chairman Azim Ahmad Tariq demanded justice for Mohajirs, and advised President Zia-ul Haq to issue arms licenses to Mohajirs. After this, we will neither invite the police or the administration to defend us, nor criticize the government on this score" (daily Jang Karachi).
1987
With the onset of 1987, lawlessness in Karachi caused curfew for a record number of days. This was also the year when MQM's anti-press traits began to shape up. The coming days were to expose some of the most fundamental contradictions inherent in the party's structure and philosophy.
It was on January 31, when Altaf Hussain made the first most controversial public statement of his career. Addressing a series of welcome receptions in Liaquatabad on that day, he told his audience. "Mohajirs will have no god use for their VCRs, color televisions and other luxuries because these things cannot defend us. They will have to arrange for their own security" (daily Jang, Feb 1, 1987).
On February 1, in the central committee meeting of Awami National Party at Lahore that was presided by Khan Abdul Wali Khan, a resolution was passed stating that Sindh's Mohajirs were a part of the larger Sindhi nationality, and that there was no such thing as a Mohajir nationality. ANP was later to become one of MQM's most trusted allies in national politics.
On February 19, Altaf Hussain addressed another rally at Burns Road in Karachi. As the party activists started shooting their guns in the air, Altaf Hussain stopped them, saying "save your ammunition". The audience raised hands to give Altaf the permission to meet anyone, including G.M. Syed. During his address, Altaf said that Sindh could not bear any more population. "There are also Lahore and Faisalabad in the way. These too are Pakistani cities".
On February 20 and 21, 16 persons were wounded and one Suzuki van, four motorbikes and a KTC bus were put on fire during rioting in Liaquatabad, Shershah, Federal B' Area and Sabzi Mandi. Young boys in Liaquatabad pelted stones at the police the whole day.
On April 5, at the book launching ceremony of Shakil Ahmad Zia, Altaf made a hard hitting speech against Punjab, the Punjabis and the army. "You used force, and the result was that the country broke into two History offers no example of such a large number of troops laying down arms. For those who want to send us back to India, let me say that we will not go alone. The whole Pakistan will go to India". During the same address he issued his first threat to the press. One newspaper is becoming a party against Mohajirs. It should take warning" (daily Amn. April 6, 1987).
On May 21, a young man was killed when riots broke out in Malir and Khokhrapar in protest over the arrest of some MQM workers. Six vehicles were also burnt in the area.
In an interview with daily Nawa-e-Waqt's Irashad Ahmad Arif, published on May 25, 1987, Altaf Hussain said: "Urdu language is Punjab's problem, not ours. We have never demanded that it should be made the national language".
On June 11, while addressing the foundation day celebrations of All-Pakistan Mohajir Students Organisation (APMSO), he demanded that Mohajirs be issued with arms licenses. He said the religious parties did nothing for the Mohajir Shaheeds but when a Punjabi died everyone from top issued statements of condemnation to bottom. He also said that anyone who met the Muslim Leaguers or was hand in glove with the government ministers had no place in MQM ranks (daily Amn, June 12, 1987).
On June 21, MQM chairman, Azim Ahmad Tariq, stated that the anti-Mohajir policy of daily Jang would be fully resisted. He announced Jang's boycott, and asked people not to read it. The same evening, dozen-armed persons attacked Jang's bureau in Hyderabad and put the premises on fire.
From July 22 to August 30, clashes between MQM and a rival group called Punjabi-Pukhtoon Ittehad (PPI) caused the death of 22 persons, while 300 were wounded. Five policemen also died in riots, while 38 were wounded. Seven KTC buses and a local train also became targets of terrorism. Clashes between the two rival groups had first broken out in April, but arrests on both sides had caused the trouble to temporarily subside.
On August 4, during an address to MQM's general workers' meeting, Altaf Hussain said that the days of the power of the army and the police were numbered. These forces have been bullying us in our airfields, police stations, neighborhoods and streets. They have put the entire Pakistan in their pockets". He further said on August 14, MQM would announce that mini-Pakistan is not Karachi, but Lahore. "Throw open the gates of Lahore to Afghan refugees on that day, and let them do what they please" (daily Amn, August 5, 1987).
On August 9, the campaign to collect sacrificial hides began in Karachi and Azim Tariq, in a statement, alleged that the Jamaat workers robbed MQM volunteers of their hides at gunpoint. He condemned this act, and issued a warning to Jamaat. On August 21, Altaf Hussain told a meeting at New Karachi that the problems could no longer be solved without rendering sacrifices, and asked people willing to make sacrifices to give their names. Addressing the Mohajir police trainees, he said that if they are forced to quit their job, they should break the legs of their instructor. A time will come when our people will be sitting in police stations he said.
On August 26, bloody-armed clashes between two groups in Shah Faisal Colony led to the death of nine persons. 80 persons were injured. Eight platoons of police, riding in 32 mobile vans, were present at the scene but could not bring hostilities to an end. Riots also broke out in Hyderabad on August 27. Curfew was clamped which continued unbroken for twelve days, until 4 p.m. on September 7. On August 28, chairman Jiye Sindh Mahaz (JSM), Abdul Wahid Aresar, expressed support for the "suppressed" Mohajirs, saying that the army, the police and Punjabi settlers had attacked the Mohajirs as if they were a conquered people (daily Amn, August 29, 1987).
On October 31, MQM announced a strike to commemorate last year's killings at Sohrab Goth. During the strike, indiscriminate firing led to the killing of two persons. 85 others were injured while six vehicles, seven shopsand two banks were put on fire. A telephone exchange was burnt in Orangi. Three women, a girl and a man were injured in roadside firing in Liaquatabad and a petrol bomb in Pak Colony injured two police constables. Riots in Kotri and Hyderabad resulted in injuries to DSP and SSP Hyderabad, while offices of the Muslim League and Wapda, a post office, an office of social security, four bank branches and 17 vehicles were set on fire.
1988
Rioting, arson and murder continued into January 1998, ten months before the restoration of democracy in the country. On January 10, stabbing incidents and acts of terrorism in Golimar, Liaquatabad, New Karachi Shah Faisal Colony, Banaras, tin Hatti, Chand Bibi Road and Rizvia Society led to the killing of five persons, and the injuring of several pedestrians including three journalists. 13 vehicles were also set on fire. The army was called in to control the situation. On January 18, four persons were killed in bloody clashes between MQM and PPI activists. Moreover, 37 houses and shops of the area were put on fire in petrol bomb attacks. Curfew was clamped to disengage the warring factions.
Nine persons were killed and 60 hurt in riots that engulfed Nazimabad, Liaquatabad and Sohrab Goth on February 4. The property put on fire included 28 houses, several shops, two factories, a petrol pump and several vehicles. Six more people were killed, and two vehicles burnt, in Liaquatabad, Pak Colony and Gulbahar areas on February 8. Curfew continued in different areas of the city. In a statement on February 21, Altaf Hussain said that Jamaat-e-Islami was another name for the drug mafia and the police. He called Jamaat's Prof. Ghafoor a liar, and accused him of towing Jamaat's "traditional" policy of hypocrisy (daily Amn, Feb 22, 1988).
On March 1, the driver of an oil tanker lost control when he came under attack of rioters in Liaquatabad, the vehicle breaking into a house and killing four inmates. This incident was followed by violent protest in which rioters injured 12 policemen including SDM and DSP Liaquatabad. Nine police vans, a minibus and an autorickshaw were damaged. Four more vehicles were put on fire. On March 3, curfew was clamped in Liaquatabad to prevent further trouble. On March 13, in his address to the Karachi bar, Altaf Hussain advised Punjabis and Pukhtoons to go back to their own provinces and demand jobs from their governments.
On April 30, an accident between a motorbike and a Suzuki van led to incidents of stabbing and firing in Orangi in which four persons were killed. 10 injured a bank branch and several shops burnt. The trouble spread, and by May 9, 31persons had fallen to death in factional fights in Orangi, Nishtar Road, Lighthouse, Pak Colony, Khwaja Ajmer Nagri, Nazimabad and elsewhere.
On May 11, the incidents of stabbing rickshaw drivers in the curfew hit areas started. Six rickshaw drivers were seriously injured. On May 23, MQM activists hiding in Jutland Lines and Shah Faisal colony started attacking policemen and magistrates in order to harass them.
On June 18, riots broke out in Hyderabad in which six persons died and 12 vehicles were destroyed. Two more persons died on the following day inspite of the imposition of curfew.
July 17, in the riots following attack on Mayor Hyderabad. Aftab Shaikh, eight persons were killed and much damage done to property. The bodies of the victims were sent to Sindh interior. On July 21, women activists of MQM stormed the Latifabad police Station and freed 18 arrested persons. G.M. Syed told newsmen on July 22 that both the government and Altaf Hussain were responsible for the deteriorating law and order situation. Altaf Hussain had become arrogant, inflated, he said. On the following day, Altaf Hussain called on Syed at Haider Manzil and the two leaders made and remove misunderstandings.
As per Amnesty International Report {1996}:
The earliest political organization of Mohajirs, the All Pakistan Mohajir Student Organization (APMSO) founded in 1978 by Altaf Hussain, evolved into the MQM in 1984. Ethnic and religious divisions in Sindh were exacerbated during the years General Zia-ul Haq was in office (1977 to 1988, of these 1977 to 1985 under martial law) as he used them to suppress and divide democratic opposition to his rule. Ethnic strife between Mohajir and Sindhis who had initially jointly opposed the influx of Punjabis and Pathans into Sindh, rapidly increased in Karachi and Hyderabad from the mid-1980s. The MQM, led by Altaf Hussain, meanwhile consolidated its hold on the Mohajir community. In November 1987, the MQM won local body elections in Karachi, Hyderabad and other urban centres in Sindh.
General Ziaul Haq died in an assassination on 17 Aug 1988 with US Ambassador to Pakistan Mr. Arnold Raphel and other US and Pakistani Military Officers. And since then MQM and Jamat-e-Islami shared power with several civilian governments {actually Military and ISI Controlled Democracy} with no power on Foreign Policy, President appointment, COAS appointment, Nuclear Policy yet people still condemn the politicians. These two Establishment’s pet Frankenstein’s Monster i.e. MQM and Jamat-e-Islami at the behest of their masters never let the Civilian governments from 1988 to 1999 to run the affairs smoothly never cooperated with the civilian government instead they accepted bribes from famous Mehran Bank Scandal of General Mirza Aslam Baig, General Hameed Gul and General Asad Durrani against PPP and then they worked against PML-N as well as it was always MQM and Jamat-e-Islami who created trouble at the behest of Generals to create situation of anarchy and political chaos and they are still doing it in a very strange way. The amazing thing is that MQM and Jamat-e-Islami are both in the Military Government one way or another and to save face they are not solving any problem of their voters rather they are creating the new ones. MQM shares power with the Military Government in Islamabad and Sindh, and Jamat-e-Islami share power with the Military Government in Baluchistan and NWFP whereas on differences and Federations wrong policies Late. Mufti Mehmood and Sardar Attaullah Mengal resigned from the government in the first Bhutto government in 70s but not these vagabonds of nowadays whom we remember as MQM and Jamat-e-Islami.
From 1988 till 1999 MQM had always been anti-establishment and its workers were treated very ruthlessly [that is condemnable to the hilt] in the same period by the Pakistan Army but now the same MQM is with the same Pakistan Army which the MQM used to criticize vehemently. Now all those workers who were killed in extra judicial encounters or fake police encounters are forgotten, those workers are also forgotten who were kept incommunicado for days and months and still many are vanished without a trace.
MQM is in the Government rather MQM is the government.
A glimpse of what Altaf Hussain used to say even in the early days of General Musharraf’s Military regime:
“QUOTE”
Policemen involved in extrajudicial killings being rewarded, alleges Altaf
LONDON: Chief of Muttahida Qaumi Movement Altaf Hussain said on Wednesday that he would keep the nation informed about the secret planning of the law enforcement agencies to commit genocide of Mohajirs. According to press release issued from London, Altaf said the MQM Intelligence Bureau had collected information based on solid proofs over a long period of time of the secret hands involved in the planning of carrying out genocide of Mohajirs. He said he would inform the people about these proofs so that the nation could understand the facts regarding the genocide of Mohajirs and in the light of these facts could comprehend the reasons and rationale behind his strategy. Altaf Hussain said that on the one hand the present government and its officials were claiming that they would take action against the police personnel involved in the extrajudicial killings, but on the other hand, the information collected by the MQM Intelligence Bureau revealed that personnel involved in the extrajudicial killings of Mohajirs were placed on high offices, they were being rewarded and commendations were bestowed upon them by the higher officials of the present government.
Altaf Hussain said that according to the MQM Intelligence Bureau, a week ago, Corps. Commander Karachi, General Muzaffar Usmani invited the 'most notorious' SHOs (Station House Officers) of Karachi, involved in the extrajudicial killings of Mohajirs in general and the MQM workers in particular. Not only he invited them, he embraced them, praised them for extrajudicial killings of the MQM workers and presented them with expensive Rolex watches, Altaf Hussain said.
He said that having read this, the MQM workers in general and the Mohajir intellectuals in particular should understand clearly the conspiracy and should not have any hopes from the high ranking Mohajir officials. Altaf Hussain, quoting information of the MQM Intelligence Bureau, said that on December 4, 1999, the ISI (Inter-Service Intelligence Agency) Chief for Sindh met the ring leader of 'Haqiqi terrorists' in the barrack number 74 of Malir Garrison where he also arranged a telephone conversation between the ring leader of 'Haqiqi terrorists' and the D G (Director General) ISI. Altaf Hussain demanded of the Chief Executive, General Pervaiz Musharraf and senior officials of the GHQ (General Headquarters) to have the report of the MQM Intelligence Bureau verified. He also appealed to the MQM workers not only to read his statements minutely but also save them as part of their record. He finally stated that he would continue to have the report of the MQM Intelligence Bureau published in the newspapers from time to time.
“Altaf to expose plot against MQM
LONDON, Dec 29: Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain has said that he will soon inform the nation about the plans of the intelligence agencies to annihilate Mohajirs.
In a press statement issued here on Wednesday, the MQM chief claimed that his party has collected hard evidence and facts about the intelligence agencies' plans.
The statement came a day after Altaf Hussain announced that he would reveal his future strategy to the people very soon. The MQM chief said that the details of the plans would enable the people to understand his new strategy. He said on the one hand the government and its officials were claiming that action would be taken against all those police officials involved in extra-judicial killings in the past while on the other hand, according to MQM information, government officials were conferring awards on those police officials who are involved in extra-judicial killings.
Mr Altaf Hussain said that according to MQM Intelligence Bureau Report, last week Corp Commander Karachi, General Muzaffar Usmani invited all those Station House Officers (SHOs) who were involved in extra-judicial killings and not only praised their "efforts" but also gave them costly wrist watches. "Mohajir people should not expect any good from any senior government official," he said.
The MQM chief said according to another MQM Intelligence Bureau Report, on December 4, 1999, the head of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in Sindh, met the head of the "Haqqiqi activist" at Barrack No 73 of Malir Garrison. He claimed a telephonic meeting was also arranged between the "Haqqiqi activists" and the Director General of ISI in Islamabad. He called upon General Pervez Musharraf and other army officials in GHQ to investigate these incidents. Mr Altaf Hussain also asked the MQM workers not only to seriously read his statements but also keep the cutting of the newspapers in which these are published for future reference.
[DAWN/The News International, KARACHI 31 December 1999, Friday, 22 Ramazan 1420]
ISPR denies Muttahida claim
KARACHI: The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Thursday denied that corps commander Karachi awarded any policemen recently. Referring to a statement by Muttahida Qaumi Movement Chief Altaf Hussain, published in newspapers on Thursday, an ISPR spokesman said that Altaf Hussain had stated that corps commander Karachi invited some SHOs to an Iftar party and offered them costly wristwatches. The spokesman said that these remarks were baseless. "This statement appears to be based on disinformation. The corps commander has not given any party to anyone in the holy month of Ramazan. Therefore, the question of inviting any police officers to an Iftar party or presenting them any gift does not arise. The remarks made in the statement are totally concocted, baseless and malicious," said the spokesman.
Altaf rejects ISPR rebuttal
KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain has rejected the ISPR rebuttal on his statement regarding distribution of costly wrist watches among certain police officers involved in extrajudicial killings and termed it as a 'bundle of lies'. In a rejoinder issued from London late on Thursday night, the Muttahida chief said that the ISPR reply compelled him to disclose further details of the function in which the watches were distributed among station house officers (SHOs) as reward. Altaf said that according to the Muttahida Intelligence Bureau Unit, the function was held at the Army Guest House in Karachi, located near the Mehran Hotel. He claimed that Col Abbas of the Military Intelligence, ISI Sindh chief Brig Junaid, Maj Masood of the MI and Col Naim of the ISI, beside Corps Commander Muzaffar Usmani was present in the function.
The Muttahida chief said that Col Abbas was assigned to bring the SHOs secretly at Mehran Lodge behind Mehran Hotel from where they were taken to the Army Guest House, just opposite the Mehran Lodge. "The Corps Commander was already present at the venue where the SHOs were presented commendation certificates and Rolex watches as reward," he added. Altaf claimed that the SHOs were assigned duties and areas to carry out operation against the Muttahida Qaumi Movement. "At the end of the function, the personal staff officer of the Corps Commander reached the Corps Headquarters and telephoned DIG Karachi Jawed Iqbal, informing him that certain SHOs were assigned specific task, thus they should not be bothered by the police command," he added. Altaf also claimed that to maintain secrecy, the staff of both Mehran Lodge and Army Guest House were changed and at the end of the function at 10:30 pm the regular staff resumed their duties. The Muttahida chief demanded of Chief Executive General Pervaiz Musharraf and GHQ officials to investigate the fact that he had disclosed so that the country could be saved from vested interests. He said the proof regarding the function could be provided to any of the reliable colleagues of General Musharraf with added disclosures.
[DAWN/The News International, KARACHI 31 December 1999, Friday, 22 Ramazan 1420]
“UN-QUOTE”
No doubt that the workers of MQM were treated inhumanly, barbarously and very cruelly by the Military Establishment from 1992 to onwards but this very same Army Establishment is enjoying power thanks to MQM and MQM is now part of the same Intelligence Agencies which the MQM used to condemn in the very near past as you have read above. The MQM’s concerns for Pakistan’s Crippling Economy must be appreciated but keeping in mind the loss MQM caused to it when there were civilian governments ruling the country and MQM was conniving with the same establishment which was working against the civilian governments of the country and MQM even used the dead bodies of their own workers to put an end to PPP and PML-N governments [1988-1990], [1990-1993], [1993-1996], and [1997-1999] and no doubt the further boast to cripple their governments was given by persons like Former President Farooq Laghari, and General Naseerullah Baber and their myopic thinking.
In these years more than 5000 persons fell to sniper bullets in Karachi and Hyderabad, while more than 1000 others were wounded. Property set on fire on otherwise destroyed included 475 vehicles, 20 banks, 102 houses, 95 shops, two telephone exchanges, 20 offices of different political parties, 12 petrol pumps, 2 factories, one office each of Wapda and social security, two post offices and 4 police stations. MQM insists that its strikes are peaceful. But the facts speak other wise, In a total 38 strike calls spread over these years, MQM prevented Rs 30 billion worth of business transactions from taking place. Hundreds of thousands of people had to do without postal and other communication facilities. As per another study Karachi, which is the hub of the Pakistani economy has been effected terribly by the violence. A major aspect of this is the flight of capital to other industrial centres in Punjab.6 A study commissioned by the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) concluded that a working day lost by strike in Karachi costs Rs. 1.3 billion ($ 38 million) and in 1995 a total of 34 working days were lost as a result of strikes called by the MQM.
"QUOTE"
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA330011996?open&of=ENG-PAK
Violence and Development: Towards an Analytical Framework
The Mutuality of Violence and Development
http://www.rcss.org/policy_studies/ps_6_2.html
on the pursuance of the then COAS Mirza Aslam Baig [check the special issue of Herald 1990 when Ghulam Ishaq Khan dismissed the PPP Government, Mirza Aslam Baig shamelessly admitted that he has taken away the support of 14 MQM MNA's from the PPP to make the government crumble].
Altaf Hussain (MQM) Rs 20 million
Afaq of the MQM Rs 0.5 million
Yusuf Haroon 5 million [he confirms having received this for Altaf Hussain of the MQM]
We never learn from history By Ardeshir Cowasjee
http://www.dawn.com/weekly/cowas/20020721.htm
Running Karachi - from London
By Isambard Wilkinson in Karachi and Damien Mc Elroy Last Updated: 1:46am BST 15/05/2007
The man in charge of Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, was at his usual command-and-control post at the weekend: a sofa in north London. As his fiefdom descended into brutal violence, with the deaths of at least 40 people reported amid the worst political bloodshed Pakistan has witnessed in years, Altaf Hussain directed his followers by telephone from a safe place more than 5,000 miles away. His headquarters, or "international secretariat", is not in the Pakistani port city but housed in a red-brick office block opposite a supermarket on Edgware High Street. Followers of Mr Hussain, 53, whose Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) is allied to President Pervez Musharraf's government, were accused yesterday of playing a bloody part in the clashes with opposition supporters.
But in an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Mr Hussain insisted that they held a "completely peaceful gathering" and that it was opposition supporters who provoked the violence, in which at least nine MQM activists were killed. When reports of the killings reached Edgware on Saturday morning, Mr Hussain was preparing to address the party by telephone. Three hours later, he defied what he called "agitators" by leaning over the loudspeaker of his phone to speak to his supporters. Opposition activists loyal to Benazir Bhutto were staging their own anti-government rally when the violence began.
But Mr Hussain said: "It was a completely peaceful gathering by MQM supporters that was targeted by a collaboration of three other parties." He said he had called for peace. But as tens of thousands of his followers sat cross-legged in reverential silence as they listened to their leader's telephonic address relayed by loudspeakers, in another street armed MQM activists fired directly into the crowds of opposition protesters.
Mr Hussain, who founded the MQM in 1984 specifically to represent the Mohajirs - Muslim refugees from India - has lived in Britian since arriving in 1992 for a kidney operation. He has since become a British citizen, while his party governs five cities and the populous Sind province.
He claimed yesterday that his party is the only force to stand up for secular values in Pakistan. "MQM is the only party against all sorts of religious fanaticism in Pakistan," he said. "It is these groups and their influence, which is all around, that is stopping me coming home. A sizeable majority of the army even have been brainwashed to supporting what the Taliban wants to impose."
Mr Hussain, who spent part of yesterday speaking on the telephone to Gen Musharraf, warned Pakistan's leader not to make any deals with exiled leaders, such as his rival Miss Bhutto, that would see the military ruler resign from the army. Pakistan faces a referendum on Gen Musharraf's rule before the end of the year and he has promised to abandon his uniform before the poll.
"The situation in South Asia does not allow Pervez Musharraf to take off his uniform, for without it he will have no power at all. Because of activities next door in Afghanistan as well as our own country, the Taliban is growing very strong," Mr Hussaid said.
"He is doing his level best to fight these groups. Musharraf is a very brave man. Only he can prevent the Talibanisation of Pakistan." Unlike the former prime ministers Nawaz Sharif and Miss Bhutto, Mr Hussain is an exile whose party has consolidated its grip. But Karachi remains tense. The MQM's most senior leader in Pakistan, Farooq Sattar, said: "The opposition wants to show that Karachi does not belong to the MQM. We have accepted the challenge." Mr Hussain is one of the Indian subcontinent's more unusual leaders. His political addresses by telephone have been known to last up to four hours, while a Western diplomat in Pakistan described the MQM as "something out of Chicago - nobody leaves the party".
While Mr Hussain promotes the party as a secular cause and courts the middle-class vote, his supporters are known to extort a goonda, or thug, tax from Karachi businesses.Mr Hussain, who once drove a taxi in Chicago for a living, micro-manages the MQM with acute attention to detail.
The movement runs on Greenwich Mean Time with his ministers in Pakistan fielding hour-long telephone calls into the early hours. Mr Sattar admitted that his party's image had been tarnished by "accusations of fascism and terrorism" but said this was a "misperception". Some observers argue that in the tough city of Karachi the MQM has given a vulnerable group protection and a voice. After Mr Hussain left Pakistan, an army operation was launched against his party during which hundreds of its workers were either killed by police or were arrested on charges of terrorism. He has no plans to return to Pakistan.
When asked why Mr Hussain was not deported to Pakistan before he was granted citizenship, a British diplomat said: "He has not committed a crime on British soil." Publishers wishing to reproduce photographs on this page should phone 44 (0) 207 931 2921 or email syndication@telegraph.co.uk
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/05/14/wpak14.xml
U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Citizenship and Immigration Services Responses
Pakistan: Information on Mohajir/Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Altaf (MQM-A)
Query: Provide information on the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Altaf (MQM-A) in Pakistan.
Response:
SUMMARY:
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Altaf (MQM-A) has been widely accused of human rights abuses since its founding two decades ago. It claims to represent Mohajirs— Urdu-speaking Muslims who fled to Pakistan from India after the 1947 partition of the subcontinent, and their descendants.
In the mid-1990s, the MQM-A was heavily involved in the widespread political violence that wracked Pakistan's southern Sindh province, particularly Karachi, the port city that is the country's commercial capital. MQM-A militants fought government forces, breakaway MQM factions, and militants from other ethnic-based movements. In the mid-1990s, the U.S. State Department, Amnesty International, and others accused the MQM-A and a rival faction of summary killings, torture, and other abuses (see, e.g., AI 1 Feb 1996; U.S. DOS Feb 1996). The MQM-A routinely denied involvement in violence.
BACKGROUND
The current MQM-A is the successor to a group called the Mohajir Qaumi Movement (MQM) that was founded by Altaf Hussein in 1984 as a student movement to defend the rights of Mohajirs, who by some estimates make up 60 percent of Karachi's population of twelve million. At the time, Mohajirs were advancing in business, the professions, and the bureaucracy, but many resented the quotas that helped ethnic Sindhis win university slots and civil service jobs. Known in English as the National Movement for Refugees, the MQM soon turned to extortion and other types of racketeering to raise cash. Using both violence and efficient organizing, the MQM became the dominant political party in Karachi and Hyderabad, another major city in Sindh. Just three years after its founding, the MQM came to power in these and other Sindh cities in local elections in 1987 (AI 1 Feb 1996; U.S. DOS Feb 1997, Feb 1999; HRW Dec 1997).
The following year, the MQM joined a coalition government at the national level headed by Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP), which took power in elections following the death of military leader General Zia ul-Haq. This marked the first of several times in the 1980s and 1990s that the MQM joined coalition governments in Islamabad or in Sindh province. Meanwhile, violence between the MQM and Sindhi groups routinely broke out in Karachi and other Sindh cities (AI 1 Feb 1996; Jane's 14 Feb 2003).
In 1992, a breakway MQM faction, led by Afaq Ahmed and Aamir Khan, launched the MQM Haqiqi (MQM-H), literally the "real" MQM. Many Pakistani observers alleged that the MQM-H was supported by the government of Pakistan to weaken the main MQM led by Altaf Hussein, which became known as the MQM-A (Jane's 14 Feb 2003). Several smaller MQM factions also emerged, although most of the subsequent intra-group violence involved the MQM-A and the MQM-H (AI 1 Feb 1996; U.S. DOS Feb 1999; Jane's 14 Feb 2003).
Political violence in Sindh intensified in 1993 and 1994 (Jane's 14 Feb 2003). In 1994, fighting among MQM factions and between the MQM and Sindhi nationalist groups brought almost daily killings in Karachi (U.S. DOS Feb 1995). By July 1995, the rate of political killings in the port city reached an average of ten per day, and by the end of that year more than 1,800 had been killed (U.S. DOS Feb 1996).
The violence in Karachi and other cities began abating in 1996 as soldiers and police intensified their crackdowns on the MQM-A and other groups (Jane's 14 Feb 2003). Pakistani forces resorted to staged "encounter killings" in which they would shoot MQM activists and then allege that the killings took place during encounters with militants (U.S. DOS Feb 1996). Following a crackdown in 1997, the MQM-A adopted its present name, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, or United National Movement, which also has the initials MQM (HRW Dec 1997).
MQM-A leader Hussein fled in 1992 to Britain, where he received asylum in 1999 (Jane's 14 Feb 2003). The MQM-A is not on the U.S. State Department's list of foreign terrorist organizations (U.S. DOS 23 May 2003).
While the multifaceted nature of the violence in Sindh province in the 1980s and 1990s at times made it difficult to pinpoint specific abuses by the MQM-A, the group routinely was implicated in rights abuses. In 1992 after the Sindh government called in the army to crack down on armed groups in the province, facilities were discovered that allegedly were used by the MQM-A to torture and at times kill dissident members and activists from rival groups. In 1996, Amnesty International said that the PPP and other parties were reporting that some of their activists had been tortured and killed by the MQM-A (AI 1 Feb 1996).
The MQM-A and other factions also have been accused of trying to intimidate journalists. In one of the most flagrant cases, in 1990 MQM leader Hussein publicly threatened the editor of the monthly NEWSLINE magazine after he published an article on the MQM's alleged use of torture against dissident members (U.S. DOS Feb 1991). The following year, a prominent journalist, Zafar Abbas, was severely beaten in Karachi in an attack that was widely blamed on MQM leaders angered over articles by Abbas describing the party's factionalization. The same year, MQM activists assaulted scores of vendors selling DAWN, Pakistan's largest English-language newspaper, and other periodicals owned by Herald Publications (U.S. DOS Feb 1992).
MQM-A leader Hussein fled in 1992 to Britain, where he received asylum in 1999 (Jane's 14 Feb 2003). The MQM-A is not on the U.S. State Department's list of foreign terrorist organizations (U.S. DOS 23 May 2003).
While the multifaceted nature of the violence in Sindh province in the 1980s and 1990s at times made it difficult to pinpoint specific abuses by the MQM-A, the group routinely was implicated in rights abuses. In 1992 after the Sindh government called in the army to crack down on armed groups in the province, facilities were discovered that allegedly were used by the MQM-A to torture and at times kill dissident members and activists from rival groups. In 1996, Amnesty International said that the PPP and other parties were reporting that some of their activists had been tortured and killed by the MQM-A (AI 1 Feb 1996).
The MQM-A and other factions also have been accused of trying to intimidate journalists. In one of the most flagrant cases, in 1990 MQM leader Hussein publicly threatened the editor of the monthly NEWSLINE magazine after he published an article on the MQM's alleged use of torture against dissident members (U.S. DOS Feb 1991). The following year, a prominent journalist, Zafar Abbas, was severely beaten in Karachi in an attack that was widely blamed on MQM leaders angered over articles by Abbas describing the party's factionalization. The same year, MQM activists assaulted scores of vendors selling DAWN, Pakistan's largest English-language newspaper, and other periodicals owned by Herald Publications (U.S. DOS Feb 1992).
The MQM-A has also frequently called strikes in Karachi and other cities in Sindh province and used killings and other violence to keep shops closed and people off the streets. During strikes, MQM-A activists have ransacked businesses that remained open and attacked motorists and pedestrians who ventured outside (U.S. DOS Feb 1996; Jane's 14 Feb 2003).
The MQM-A allegedly raises funds through extortion, narcotics smuggling, and other criminal activities. In addition, Mohajirs in Pakistan and overseas provide funds to the MQM-A through charitable foundations (Jane's 14 Feb 2003).
Since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the United States, the MQM-A has been increasingly critical of Islamic militant groups in Pakistan. The MQM-A, which generally has not targeted Western interests, says that it supports the global campaign against terrorism (Jane's 14 Feb 2003).
This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the RIC within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
References:
Amnesty International (AI). HUMAN RIGHTS CRISIS IN KARACHI (1 Feb 1996, ASA 33/01/96),
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA330011996?open&of=ENG-PAK
The MQM-A allegedly raises funds through extortion, narcotics smuggling, and other criminal activities. In addition, Mohajirs in Pakistan and overseas provide funds to the MQM-A through charitable foundations (Jane's 14 Feb 2003).
Since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the United States, the MQM-A has been increasingly critical of Islamic militant groups in Pakistan. The MQM-A, which generally has not targeted Western interests, says that it supports the global campaign against terrorism (Jane's 14 Feb 2003).
This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the RIC within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
References:
Amnesty International (AI). HUMAN RIGHTS CRISIS IN KARACHI (1 Feb 1996, ASA 33/01/96),
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA330011996?open&of=ENG-PAK
[Accessed 6 Feb 2004]
Human Rights Watch (HRW). WORLD REPORT 1998, "Pakistan" (Dec 1997),
http://www.hrw.org/worldreport/Asia-09.htm#P823_214912
[Accessed 6 Feb 2004]
Jane's Information Group (Jane's). JANE'S WORLD INSURGENCY AND TERRORISM-17, "Muthida [sic] Qaumi Movement (MQM-A)" (14 Feb 2003),
http://www.janes.com/
[Accessed 6 Feb 2004]
U.S. Department of State (U.S. DOS). "Foreign Terrorist Organizations" (23 May 2003),
[Accessed 6 Feb 2004]
U.S. Department of State (U.S. DOS). COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES FOR 1998, "Pakistan" (Feb 1999),
http://www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/1998_hrp_report/pakistan.html
U.S. Department of State (U.S. DOS). COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES FOR 1998, "Pakistan" (Feb 1999),
http://www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/1998_hrp_report/pakistan.html
[Accessed 6 Feb 2004]
U.S. Department of State (U.S. DOS). COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES FOR 1996, "Pakistan" (Feb 1997),
http://www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/1996_hrp_report/pakistan.html
[Accessed 6 Feb 2004]
U.S. Department of State (U.S. DOS). COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES FOR 1995, "Pakistan" (Feb 1996),
http://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/ERC/democracy/1995_hrp_report/95hrp_report_sasia/Pakistan.html
[Accessed 6 Feb 2004]
U.S. Department of State (U.S. DOS). COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES FOR 1994, "Pakistan" (Feb 1995),
http://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/ERC/democracy/1994_hrp_report/94hrp_report_sasia/Pakistan.html
[Accessed 6 Feb 2004]
U.S. Department of State (U.S. DOS). COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES FOR 1991, "Pakistan" (Feb 1992).
U.S. Department of State (U.S. DOS). COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES FOR 1990, "Pakistan" (Feb 1991).
Attachments:
Jane's Information Group (Jane's). JANE'S WORLD INSURGENCY AND TERRORISM-17, "Muthida [sic] Qaumi Movement (MQM-A)" (14 Feb 2003),
http://www.janes.com/
[Accessed 6 Feb 2004]
http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home/opendoc.htm?tbl=RSDCOI&page=research&id=414fe5aa4
"UNQUOTE"
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