MQM Violence (1994–2016)

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Second MQM insurrection
Part of MQM Militancy
Pakistan Rangers in 2015 when MQM's HQ Nine Zero was getting raided
Date 1994–present Location Karachi and Hyderabad Result Ongoing Start of Karachi Targeted action and Operation Lyari Diminishing of MQM militancy Exile of Altaf Hussain Splitting of PSP and MQM-P from MQM-London
Belligerents
MQM-London MQM Haqiqi	Pakistan  Pakistan Army Sindh Police Rangers Karachi Government	ANP PPP PAC Sunni Tehreek TTP SSP
Units involved
MQM-London MQM Haqiqi	Pakistan  Pakistan Army Sindh Police Special Security Unit Rangers	ANP PPP PAC Sunni Tehreek TTP SSP
Casualties and losses
6000+ killed

The second MQM insurrection refers to an insurrection by MQM, a political and militant organisation representing Muhajir people which launched an insurrection in 1978 against Sindh government as well as multiple other opponents. This insurrection was suppressed by Pakistan army in the Operation Cleanup. In 1994, after the military's withdrawal, MQM launched another wave of anti-state, sectarian and ethnic violence. Its intensity died down following Operation Lyari and Karachi targeted action. The 2015 Nine-Zero raids saw several key MQM leaders arrested and the beginning of a crackdown on the party.^[1] Another crackdown in August 22, 2016 saw the closure party headquarters near 90 Azizabad, Khursheed Memorial Hall, MPA Hostel, and Jinnah Park, the arrest of other MQM leaders and "marked the end of the story for the party founder, Altaf."^[2] of In 2016 the Muttahida movement began to fragment, seeing the rise of MQM-Pakistan and other breakaway factions like the Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP), MQM-PIB colony and MQM-Bahadurabad factions. The original faction becoming known as MQM-London.^[3][4]

MQM also began to experience deterioration in electoral results. In 2018 PTI was able to win 14 out of 21 of Karachi's National Assembly seats due to MQM's decline, while the PPP was able to secure its first mayoral victory in Karachi in 2023.^[1] Another breakaway faction established in 1992, MQM-Haqiqi also saw a decline in popularity, not winning any seats in 2013 and 2015 elections.^[5] According to an article in Dawn, the Security Establishment's influence over the MQM has grown significantly.^[6] In 2023 PSP and Farooq Sattar Group factions announced their merger into MQM-P,^[7] but boycotted 2023 Local Bodies elections, which MQM leader Raza Haroon criticized, stating it "essentially threw the party out of politics for the next four years."^[8] In the 2024 General Elections MQM-P was able to win 20 National Assembly seats in Karachi.^[9] In an alleged leaked video Sindh Governor and MQM-P leader Kamran Tessori purportedly admitted "We did not get votes in the elections," and considered the real voting bank of MQM to consist of seven NA seats from 2018 general elections.^[10]

During the months of May and June in 1994, the MQM carried out a series of attacks following the army's withdrawal. These included car bombings, riots, and secret killings, leading to the deaths of around 750 people, including non-Urdu speakers and other opponents of the MQM.^[11][12] The conflict its most bloodiest in May 1995, when MQM militants resurfaced to the ground, and systematically ambushed government offices, police stations and police patrols using rocket launchers. Although sporadic ethnic and sectarian violence had been a permanent feature of the Karachi landscape since 1980s, the level of organization and intensity of the violence in 1995 was unprecedented. About 300 people were killed in the month of June, the death toll reached 600 deaths in two months and 2,000 deaths in a year attributed to ethnic violence, leading analysts to compare the situation to the Kashmir insurrection which were also taking place in the 1990s.^[13][12] On June 25, 1995, nearly 80 policemen were killed in a five-week long assault by the MQM militants, and a total of 221 security forces were killed over the year, while over 70 police operations killed over 121 "terrorists" believed to be MQM activists or sympathizers. By 1996 it was described as a virtual civil war between the Pakistani security forces and the MQM.^[13][14][15] In 2002, the MQM assumed office in the provincial government and were elected to the city government in 2006 and 2008, while Karachi newspapers were accusing the MQM of eliminating opponents with impunity. This also involved violent, unchecked land expansion and real estate 'entrepreneurs' who were speculated to be illegally or violently occupying land driven by powerful political patrons in the MQM.^[16] Karachi experienced an exceptionally high level of violence in 2011 with some 800 people killed, where the MQM was widely viewed as the perpetrator of targeted killings, out of a total 1800 killings in Karachi.^[17][18][19]

In 2007, the 12 May Karachi riots saw the MQM party workers being accused of launching highly coordinated attacks on ANP and PPP supporters, resulting in the killings of 58 people as well as hundreds of injuries, most of whom were Pashtuns. 14 MQM workers were killed in relation during the clashes.^[20][21][22] In several occasions in 2007 and 2008, Pashtun-majority neighbourhoods were subject to violence and bombings, including coordinated attacks against Pashtun street vendors, restaurant owners and labourers, as well as "target killings" of ANP activists, who were accused to be involved with the Pakistani Taliban.^[23][24][25] In 2010, in response to the assassination of an MQM politician, Raza Haider, MQM-affiliated gangs gunned down close to 95 people, primarily Pashtuns as well as a minority of Sindhis and Punjabis, during the 2010 Karachi riots.^[26][27] In March 2011, beginning with an attack on a PPP office, 50 people were killed, mainly Pashtuns, although Urdu-speakers and Balochs were also among the killed, as well as another 18 in the month of April. These were blamed by Pashtun activists on the MQM. although MQM denied the claims.^[28][29] In a five-day period beginning on July 5, MQM led a protest quitting the ruling government, resulting in 114 deaths indiscriminately targeting ethnic Pashtuns regardless of their affiliation to any political party.^[30][31][32] While in mid-July, ANP politicians accused the MQM expelling 3–4,000 Pashtuns out of their neighbourhoods,^[33] the Sindhi politician Zulfiqar Mirza's comments criticizing MQM which were seen as offensive to Urdu-speakers re-ignited violence as MQM mobs went on a rampage and burned vehicles, resulting in further 14 deaths by morning,^[34] while the death toll increased to 200–318 by the end of July.^[35][36] According to Fawad Chaudhry, neither PPP nor ANP had a comparable militant wing as the MQM in the past 10 years.^[37]

In 2015, the MQM faced accusations of setting fire to a factory to extort money, resulting in the deaths of 258 people.^{[38][39][40][41]} MQM managed to build a successful network of businessmen and marketeers, to influence what was in effect a parallel economy in Karachi which produced organizational profits from alliances cemented with violence.^[42] Dawn reported that Karachi as an economic hub was essentially a "hostage city" of the MQM.^[42] MQM made use of its violent control over the economy not just through profits from extortion, but also an organized strategy of intimidation to enforce "strikes", pen-downs, tool downs (a.k.a. down tools), and shutdowns of the entire economic hub in Karachi, which essentially used the city's economy as a hostage from the rest of Pakistan, to gain political concessions from the central government and force it to accept the MQM as a ruling power.^[42][43]

In one incident in 2011, after a Pashtun journalist Wali Babar was allegedly killed by the MQM in Karachi, 4 journalists linked to the murder investigation of the dead journalist, two policemen, a police officer's brother, and an informer, were all "methodically targeted" by the MQM.^[44]

Throughout 2008, about 143 killings in Karachi were attributed to clashes between MQM and the Sunni Tehreek, a Barelvi Sufi Islamist organization which recruited former MQM members.^[45] Contrarily to MQM-A, MQM-Haqiqi, a breakaway faction of the MQM, united with the Sipah-i-Sahaba in Karachi in attacks against Shi'a places of worship.^[46] MQM also involved in clashed with the Taliban is which believed to profit from criminal activities such as bank robberies, thefts, car snatchings, and kidnappings for ransom.^[45]

MQM's violent activities were not limited to external confrontations, as internal factional violence also occurred, with party members being targeted in drive-by shootings. An instance of this occurred in the initial half of 2009 when over a hundred killings took place due to infighting between the MQM-Haqiqi and MQM factions.^[47]

During the tenure of Benazir Bhutto, interior minister General Naseerullah Babar conducted second operation against MQM between 1994 and 1996.^[48]

Due to serious doubts over credibility of operation due to fake encounters, extra judicial killings and rise of killings in Karachi,^[49] Benazir Bhutto's government was dismissed by the then President of Pakistan, Farooq Ahmed Laghari.^[50]

In the aftermath of Hakeem Saeed's assassination, governor rule was imposed by Nawaz Sharif in the Sindh province and military operation was initiated against MQM,^[51]

Due to rise in Target killing and organised crimes of extortion, kidnapping for ransom and increased crime rate of the city, Karachi operation began by the Nawaz Sharif government in 2013 with the intention of creating peace in the city. Even though it was claimed by the interior minister Chaudhry Nisar that the intentions of the operation were apolitical, there have been systematic crackdowns against MQM. In 2015 MQM's Headquarter Nine Zero was raided twice by the paramilitary Rangers and many top officials of MQM were taken into custody. On August 22, 2016, The Headquarter was sealed and hundreds of MQM offices were bulldozed.

Many Journalists opine that Army establishment is behind the formation of PSP and MQM-Pakistan.^[52] Many MQM officials including Prof. Zafar Arif, Kanwar Khalid Yunus, adv Sathi ishaq, Amjadullah khan, Qamar Mansur, Shahid Pasha have been in detention since four months.

MNA Kanwar Naveed Jameed, MPA Kamran farooqui have also been arrested by the paramilitary forces.

On 11 March 2015, Pakistan Rangers carried out a raid at Nine Zero, the headquarters of MQM in Karachi as well as the party's public secretariat Khursheed Begum Memorial Hall and arrested over 100 MQM activists.^[53][54]

At least 27 suspects were presented before an anti-terrorism court. Rangers claimed that they apprehended nearly half a dozen target killers – including Faisal Mehmood, aka 'Faisal Mota', who was sentenced to death in the murder case of Geo News journalist Wali Khan Babar in 2011 and a huge quantity of arms and ammunition, walkie talkies, binoculars and other military gear used by NATO forces in Afghanistan were also seized during the raid.^[55][54]

Nine Zero was sealed on 23 August 2016 by the Pakistan Rangers following a hate speech delivered by MQM's leader, Altaf Hussain. In this speech, he incited the party workers to attack Pakistani media houses, which resulted in street rioting and one death in Karachi. This 2015 Rangers raid turned out to be a turning point for MQM party or some people call it a beginning of the MQM's end as a political party. A section of political analysts believe that the situation had already started worsening against the MQM, when London's Metropolitan Police arrested and detained Altaf Hussain, the party founder, in 2014 for investigation which washed away the impression that he was untouchable and safe in Britain.^[53][56]

Later many leaders of MQM have been arrested by Pakistan Rangers for investigation. Since this 2015 raid, many surprising and sudden developments led to the splitting of the MQM into many factions. A group of former MQM people have formed a new party called Pak Sarzameen Party under the leadership of Syed Mustafa Kamal and Anis Kaimkhani.^[53]

• MQM Militancy
• MQM insurrection (1978-1992)
• Operation Cleanup
• Operation Lyari