19 June 1992____The Testing Time For MQM!

This year too, MQM is observing 19^th June as a black day by holding gatherings in the memory of its works and supporters who were killed during the victimization started from this day in 1992.

19 June, 1992, was the day when the armed men entered Karachi and occupied MQM`s offices, kidnapped hundreds of MQM workers and killed many of them. They also threw black color on Altaf Hussain`s portraits, installed all over the city, and burnt them down. The armed Haqiqi group made their under controlled areas prohibited for MQM. In fact, that was the period when the term “No Go area” was first used to denote the restricted areas in Karachi. All that took place when the army had been deployed in Karachi for keeping peace.   

That was, no doubt, a total incitement to bloody clashes. However, MQM leadership, showing its prudence, asked its people to leave their hoses and go underground which surely helped to avoid any bloodshed in the city. Question is, how could any armed group so easily occupy a political party`s offices and cause so much incitement in the already disturbed city? Why did the Army personnel, who were already present on the roads to provide security to people, not stop them from doing that? Surprisingly, instead of providing shelter, a fierce army operation was launched against the already under-attacked MQM which made the situation for this party and its voters and supporters worse.

However, very soon this puzzle got solved when the Army Chief General Asif Nawaz Janjua said, “When Muslim League can be in groups, why not MQM?” MQM promptly responded to his statements saying, “The cat has come out of its bag now”. Further, whatever ambiguity was remaining about the real intention and the direction of the army operation got cleared when General Janjua talked about closing Altaf Hussain`s chapter. The people of Karachi did witness his words written on the walls as a slogan against MQM`s founder, i.e., “Altaf`s chapter is closed”

Then, cordon off the areas in MQM`s constituencies, house to house searching (after taking out all the male members from their houses by blindfolding), arbitrary arrests, torture and custodial killings became a routine during that period. According to MQM, its over 15,000 workers and supporters were killed during the operation from June 1992 to October 1999 either by the law-enforcement agencies in the custody and/or in their presence by the patronized terrorist groups. Its 28 workers have been missing since the same period after arrests. MQM`s first chairman Azeem Ahmed Tariq was suspiciously killed at his house despite having assured of his protection by the Army officials. Altaf Hussain`s own brother and nephew were also brutally killed after the arrest by the Rangers.

In the same extremely tense atmosphere, an incident took place in Karachi which added more fuel to it. A PAF fighter plane dropped two fuel tanks at Gharibabad, near MQM`s head office, Azizabad, due to which few houses and shops got burnt killing some people. Altaf Hussain termed it as a tough message to him from the military establishment and reiterated that he would not bow down to it at all. However, the military spokesman declared it merely as an incident. Honestly speaking, unless and until concrete and reliable evidences were found, it could not be declared as a deliberate act from the PAF against MQM. But, what if any Army, Rangers or Police personnel is injured or even killed with the bullet mistakenly fired by a security guard of any MQM`s leaders, will they similarly give a benefit of doubt to MQM especially in the presently prevailing tense environment?     

Definitely, it was the toughest period that MQM came across since 19 June, 1992, just after few years of its inception in the Pakistan politics. That operation made MQM`s survival a matter of life and death for its leadership. The military and Rangers` operations during 90`s gave many lessons to MQM workers and supporters. Through the operations, they came to know that the military establishment was actually the ruling force in the country and also to what extent it could go against MQM, Altaf Hussain and their followers. The operations not only revealed that no authorities (from the political governments to the judiciary) would provide justice to them against the establishment, but they also exposed the prejudice of the media, religious parties, NGO`s as well as civil society for Urdu speaking/Muhajirs.

However, despite so many problems and no support from anyone in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, MQM not only survived, but also got politically stronger mainly because of two very important reasons: First, MQM`s leadership preferably adopted the policy of restrain in response to every provocation from the establishment, and secondly MQM`s workers and supporters kept on blindly following Altaf Hussain even in the worst time with the belief that God would surely help them out. That was exactly how all the tactics maliciously used by the military establishment to demoralize and split them into small groups, failed.

Very unfortunately, once again, MQM is under attack in the name of bringing culprits to justice. Once again, MQM`s survival is being made the matter of life and death. Interestingly, when we compare what MQM had to face in 90`s with the present difficult time it is passing through since the new targeted operation started in September 2013, we find many similarities between them. For example:  

In 1992, the parliament was assured that the under-discussion military operation would be indiscriminate and be only against criminals exactly according to the list of 72 big fish presented in the support, yet they hit MQM below the belt. In 2013 too, MQM was deceived in the name of restoring peace in the city and once again the Pakistani law-enforcement agencies victimized it.  

In 1992, so many allegations (especially including Major Kaleem kidnap case  and the charge of Jinnah Pur conspiracy), which later on proved to be baseless, were leveled on MQM to prepare a ground for the planned operation against it. In the same way, target killings, extortions, and even Baldia factory incident were used as a starting point to justify the already decided operation to exclusively target MQM.

In 1992, in order to propagate the establishment-released stories to criminalize MQM and to demoralize its workers & supporters, journalists were invited from Punjab. This time, it needs not to be repeated as the Pakistani print and electronic media is already controlled by the pro-establishment and anti-MQM racist journalists.

In the 90`s, MQM`s Azeem Ahmed Tariq was trapped in the name of saving common people from the imminent bloodshed. This time, Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ibad seems to have been the victim of the same tactic.

In the past, several MQM`s leaders were trapped and/or forced to join hands with MQM`s rivals so as to create a divide in the party. Presently, the same attempt is being made regarding former city Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal.

In late 90`s, Saulat Mirza was deliberately forced to spread the fake news that he had killed Dr. Imran Farooq on the orders of Altaf Hussain after serious conflicts with him. Previously, it was only a fake story of Dr. Imran Farooq`s murder to malign and target Altaf Hussain. But in 2010, he was really murdered in London with the same evil objective for which Saulat Mirza was used during 1998-99.

In 1992, immediately after the start of the military operation, Altaf Hussain was pressurized to step down from the leadership of his own brain child (MQM) and hand it over to Azeem Ahmed Tariq. Now once again, he is being compelled again and again to quit MQM for the sake of saving the party.

During the military and Rangers operation in 90`s, all those MQM workers and leaders who kept standing with Altaf Hussain were either declared terrorists or killed. This time too, the same old practice is being used against MQM`s loyalists. Amir Khan is the most pertinent example of the same. 

All the above-stated references show that the Pakistani military establishment is applying the same old recipe of 90`s to criminalize, demoralize MQM and its people and also to create a division in them. But, just like in the past, MQM`s workers and supporters need to keep strictly following their leader Altaf Hussain and all the instructions as well as the party discipline at any cost. This is the only weapon by which they can fail all the ill-practice of their enemies. Otherwise, their even a little distraction/deviation will provide a chance to the establishment to turn them into more Saulat Mirzas.