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Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), officially known up to 26 July 1997 ()as Mohajir Qaumi Movement (Emigrant National Movement) , is a political party in Pakistan. MQM has no strong religious or political ideology, it should be more considered as a moderate liberal and secularist party, as well as an ethnic party.
MQM represents the urban Urdu-speaking Mohajir population which emigrated from India when Pakistan and India split in 1947. MQM agitates for Mohajir rights in Pakistan, and struggles to gain more political power for Mohajirs. The MQM also seeks to improve the low social and economic status of the Mohajir population.
Philosophy
MQM claims that official discrimination against Muhajirs began in 1958 when Muhammad Ayub Khan seized the presidency of Pakistan in a military coup. Ayub Khan systematically eliminated Mohajirs from important positions in the civil service, bureaucracy and local government. MQM accuses the subsequent administration of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto of nationalizing Mohajir businesses, unfairly taxing them, and outlawing the use of Urdu by teachers and bureaucrats. MQM is strongly opposed to the domination of the rural population of the Sindh province by landed oligarchs, as well as the domination of the Sindh by Punjab, Pakistan's largest, wealthiest, and most populous province.
Nowadays, as clearly expressed on the party's website, MQM is against all sorts of religious extremism, discrimination and feudalism, which it considers responsible for having destroyed Pakistan's political and economic system. Because of the strong speeches of its leader Altaf Husain against the Muslim fundamentalists, he and his party are the targets of many attacks, including on the internet.
Political history
The MQM's formation had a lot to do with ISI funding and influence, as Zia ul Haq wanted a party to break the PPP's domination of Karachi. The MQM however went out of control and began a violent struggle for Mohajirs that turned Karachi into a warzone. It was finally in 1992 that an Army operation was launched in Karachi and the MQM's gunmen.armories and torture rooms were destroyed. The Army involvement is an indication of the seriousness of the crisis that MQM perpetrated in Karachi. Since the army operation and subsequent heavy activities of Pakistani police and paramilitary, the MQM has given up violent activities.
MQM is limited to Karachi areas, where the Muhajir population lives. Many Pakistanis refuse to recognize that an identity such as "Muhajir" even exists, and view it as a artificial identity meant to divide Pakistanis and give power to politicians.
Current goals
In 1992, MQM split into two factions. The majority faction, led by the founder Altaf Hussain, was renamed Muttahida Quami Movement and is commonly referred to as MQM (A). The MQM (A) has become an exclusively political outfit. The smaller faction, MQM (H), retained the original name, Mohajir Qaumi Movement but added the suffix Haqiqi, which means "real". MQM (A) and MQM (H) are involved in a turf war in Karachi.
with the goal of destabilizing MQM's base by promoting the offshoot MQM (H) as a pro-government force against the anti-government MQM (A). MQM (H) was provided with arms and ideological backing by the Islamic fundamentalists that the ISI was already supporting in Afghanistan and Kashmir. The violent struggle between the factions and other ethnic parties in Karachi was eventually put down by Army and Police operations that were conducted with brutal efficiency.
Opposing views
It is generally believed in Pakistan that MQM was created by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), main military intelligence agency in Pakistan. It was created to break the stronghold of Benazir Bhutto in her home province, Sindh. ISI believed that the ethnic tension between Sindhis and Muhajirs will distract Benazir Bhutto and her political party, Pakistan Peoples Party, from launching campaign against the military government of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. Altaf Hussain was living in Chicago at that time and he was called to form a Muhajir ethnic political party with funds supplied by ISI.
The success of MQM in attracting support of Muhjairs both surprised and scared the ISI. This unexpected popularity helped MQM to chart it's own independent political course rather than follow the ISI agenda. MQM went out of control of ISI and began a violent struggle for Muhajirs that turned Karachi into a virtual war-zone. In 1992, after months of extreme violence by the MQM, Pakistan Army launched a military operation to restore law and order in Karachi. The MQM gunmen were killed or arrested, armories and torture rooms were destroyed. The Army involvement is an indication of the seriousness of the crisis that MQM perpetrated in Karachi. Since the army operation and subsequent heavy activities of Pakistani police and paramilitary, the MQM has given up it's violent activities.
Recent trend
MQM boycotted 2001 muncipal elections giving lame excuses. It later regretted it's decision as Jamaat-i-Islami won elections in Karachi. MQM participated in 2002 national election and secured most of the urban areas seats in Sindh province. Altaf Hussain supported General Pervez Musharraf U-turn on September 11, 2001 attacks in New York, USA. Recently he visited India and spoke on many international forums. In 2005, Haq Parast candidates, supported by MQM, won the muncipal elections in Karachi and Hyderabad.
Role in war against terrorism
Even though MQM has tried to publicise it's political agenda as to support cordial relations with minority groups, and religious moderation; MQM has remained considerably adamant of the fact that it itself indulges on a humangous scale, in sectarian violence and acts of attrocities on innocent civilians. It actively supports the rule of guns and violence, and as such has terrorized the working populous of the city of Karachi for pretty much of the last two decades. Through such acts MQM has not only secured it's survival in the city politics of Karachi, but also has achieved a great degree of success in contolling it.
Most Pakistanis consider the MQM a terrorist organization, which puts into question the military governments role in the war aginast terror, as the MQM is allied with the military government.
MQM international network
MQM has little international political affinities. Though a large recognizible political and sectarian force in the Karachi domain it's power mainly lies hereto, having effectively no influence on Pakistan's national and international political scenerio
See also
References
External links
Arrest & Arms recovery from MQM workers
Yearwise detail of MQM's atrocities
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