Will Gen. Raheel Sharif provide justice to the oppressed people?

While addressing a general workers` meeting, the founder and leader of Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM), Mr. Altaf Hussain asked the army and nation, “They should clearly tell us about our status in this country? And what the establishment and the army think about us?” He raised these questions as a result of having faced the intolerant state`s policies against the Urdu speaking community from the military establishment.

In fact, the Urdu speakers had been facing political as well as ethnically-based victimization since 1947, but the 1992`s military operation was an obvious declaration from the military establishment that they would not accept them and their supported party MQM at all. Of course, it was a point of serious concerns for them.

It is of much importance that when operation was being finalized, MQM was the part of the coalition government led by Mian Nawaz Sharif. In the beginning, it was officially announced that the proposed operation would be against the dacoits, land grabbers and their sponsors who had been behind the lawlessness in the province. In this context, a list of 72 culprits (big fish) was also presented before the Parliament and the cabinet. MQM extended its full support to the government for that. But, overnight, the military operation was diverted to MQM from 19th June, 1992 by deploying “Haqiqi group”(mainly consisted of the persons expelled from MQM due to the violation of party rules and regulation) in Karachi and Hyderabad in the army trucks.

The “Haqiqi group” occupied MQM`s offices and kidnapped its workers & supporters and forced them on gun point to work with them against Altaf Hussain. Whoever did not agree with them was killed and dumped on the streets of the city. The raids & arrests by the law-enforcement agencies in MQM`s supporting areas were also being carried out at the same time. As a result, thousands of people were arrested, tortured and hundreds of them were also extra-judicially killed.

Jinnah Pure Conspiracy, the allegation of Major Kaleem`s kidnap, suspicious murder of MQM`s Chairman Azeem Ahmed Tariq, barring MQM from contesting 93 election by then Corp Commander Karachi Gen. Naseer Akhtar, head money for MQM leaders including Dr. Imran Farooq (martyr), all these were executed during the same tenure. The wall-chalking “Altaf`s Chapter`s Closed” and Gen. Asif Nawz`s (then Army Chief) statement “When Muslim League can be in groups, why not MQM?” were clearly exposing the evil conspiracy behind the operation.

The history also contains the press conference of Brigadier Asif Haroon at Liaquatabad chowk just few days after the start of the crackdown against MQM in June 1992 in which he said, “We have taken over Karachi completely and the city is clear now.” The question is, if Karachi had been militarily taken over by the Army, then how did thousands of people get killed in front of its soldiers? Logically, so large number of people could not be killed so easily in the presence of the paramilitary forces unless their consensus was also there.

If it is assumed that the 1992 operation was the misconduct of an army chief, as explained to MQM`s leadership, then it should have ended with the demise of Gen. Asif Nawaz. But, it didn`t! Similarly, if it was an ill-deed of only one individual, then why didn`t the other responsible people and institutions of the country including the Prime Minister, President, Chief Minister Sindh, Supreme or High Court play their due role to save the under-attack community and party from being ethnically victimized?

Altaf Hussain kept appealing in the name of Allah, Last Prophet (PBUH), Pakistan and humanity, to all the people and institutions concerned including the civil society, political and religious leaders to come forward and get the ethnic cleansing stopped. Very unfortunately, not speaking of provide justice to the victims, almost all of them extended their direct or indirect support to the oppression. That was the reason why June 1992`s operation continued in different forms for several years. Although some of the main perpetrators of 92 operations confessed on-air that the charge of Jinnah Pur was totally fabricated and, similarly, the Supreme Court also declared that the Major Kaleem case was based on a lie, yet neither the culprits were brought to justice, nor could the victimization of MQM and its voters stop.

Factually speaking, 92`s military operation neither could replace MQM with the establishment`s deployed Haqiq group, nor could it restore peace in Karachi. The only fall out of the military operation was the distrust of the people of urban Sindh on the state institutions. But, the legacy of 92`s policy is still continuing and no one has come forward yet to restore the trust of the Urdu speakers. The question is when despite burning down the Ziarat Residency and struggling for an independent state by Baloch separatists, PML-N`s leadership can allow a Baloch national party to form its government in Balochistan in the name of “Restoring Balochis` trust on state of Pakistan” and, in the same way, when the present Chief of Army Staff can have meetings with Imran Khan and Dr. Tahir-ul-Qadri in the name of “national interest” and can also instruct an elected government to avoid using force against the protesters, then can`t the similar measures be done for the Urdu speakers too?

Altaf Hussain has once again called attention of the most powerful force of the country to the long-prevailing injustice that the Urdu speaking community has been facing for decades. Above all, considering the military establishment on the driving seat of the Pakistani politics, it cannot be claimed that whatever has been going on in Karachi is without the consent or approval of the Army generals. Therefore, it is the time for Pakistan Army and its Chief Gen. Raheel Sharif to make it clear if they want to continue the on-going nonsense against the oppressed community or would rather stop it. The oppressed people are closely watching each and every move of the COAS as well as the newly appointed DG ISI in this context. Their actions would help them make a decision about their future. Let`s see if the world sees the true justice being done in Pakistan for the first time, or God forbids, witnesses the repetition of the history. May God save Pakistan!