Many in Pakistan believe that Muttahida Qaumi Movement is not a political party anymore but has turned into a militant organization. They believe that it must be eradicated from its roots. But the question that arises here is that who can guarantee that a similar organization won’t come into place? Also, how did MQM end up where it is at the moment?
A Mohajir once told me, “we are not allowed to buy land anywhere else. We do not get into agriculture because of ethnic Waderas and the so called, sons of the soil. We can have the money, but we cannot have freedom. We will never be Pakistanis we will always remain Urdu speaking or Mohajirs.
“I was born here; my parents left everything and moved here. But except for DHA in Karachi. I have no home. People still say stuff like Punjab for Punjabis, Sindh for Sindhis, Baluchistan for Baluchis, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for Pakhtoons, and the sea for Mohajirs . I am not Pakistani, but just a Mohajir. What a life. Was this what we all sacrificed for? No doubt the Sindhis gave us a home and welcomed us at the time of partition.
“Everyone hates the MQM mentality but do I don’t. When Altaf Hussein started he actually spoke of what Muhajirs were feeling. They took up guns and aggression for our rights. Today we can live and breathe a little easy in Karachi because of MQM.”
A the time of partition, the majority of migrants were better educated and qualified for administration, and were much more suited to control the various organs of the state. They dominated the political, bureaucratic, mercantilist and the judicial organs of the new state.
Also, as Karachi was the capital of the country, most migrants felt empowered as the city was becoming a Muhajircity. However, Ayub Khan decided to shift the capital to Islamabad which reduced their Federalist role to just an ethnic power of Karachi.
And so on Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who was himself a Sindhi, initiated several policies that favoured Sindhis since most of his support was drawn from the province of Sindh. He changed the quota system in 1971 for recruitment to the Federal services, leading to a loss in job opportunities for the Muhajirs. Bhutto made Sindhi the sole official language of Sindh in 1972, a move sternly rejected by Muhajirs.
Before this, the official language of Sindh was Urdu and it was associated with the Muhajirs who were the economically dominant new settlers. Eventually, Bhutto gave in to the pressure and both Urdu and Sindhi were made official languages of the province.
General Zia’ during his period is said to have encouraged communal violence among Muhajirs, Pathans and Punjabis in Karachi to consolidate his power. During his military regime, preference was given to military personnel, largely consisting of Punjabis and Pathans, leading to the further sidelining of Mohajirs.
Throughout this period, Karachi continued to grow and being a commercial hub of Pakistan, a huge number of Pakhtuns and Punjabis migrated to it. The Muhajirs felt increasingly threatened by this influx. They believed their community was being marginalized by Pakistan’s national elites, the civil bureaucracy, the military, and the business elite.
All these factors were responsible for the birth of the MQM, founded in 1984 by Altaf Hussain who himself was a victim of the quota system. Taking advantage of this vulnerable situation of the Urdu Speaking people of Karachi, he became its all-powerful totalitarian leader. Most of its hardcore cadre was thoroughly brainwashed into believing that they were marginalized people in Pakistan.
By the early 90s, the MQM became notorious for its violence. Altaf Hussain relocated to UK and began to manage the party from the UK and status-quo remains intact ever since.
The question that arises is that how could Pakistan get out of this quagmire? The answer is simple, give rights to people and power to govern themselves. It means an powerful institution of local bodies system where the people of local communities have the power to govern themselves and decide what is best for them. In this way, the example of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s local bodies system is an ideal system. Out of all the four provinces, KP’s local bodies system is one where one can see real power in the hands of people. Sindh, and especially Karachi is in dire need of such system.