The U.S. Speaks Up on Karachi's Continued Crisis

By M.M. Ali

The United States has called upon Pakistan to end the violence in the city of Karachi through peaceful negotiations. The government of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has labeled the U.S. action interference in the internal affairs of Pakistan. Where Washington may have acted within the purview of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights in asking a "friendly government" to bring peace to a persistently troubled area, Islamabad appears to be well within its rights in asking America to stay away from the issue.

Whatever may be the merits on either side, the matter has finally been brought into the international arena. It will be interesting to see if the Clinton administration pursues the subject further. It will be of equal interest to note whether Bhutto responds positively or waits for another nudge.

Karachi's crisis is not only a human rights issue. It is much, much more than that. More than 1,700 persons have been killed to date, and many more have been injured, maimed, widowed and orphaned. Such ghastly statistics give a human face to an ethnic issue which has serious economic and political dimensions. The city of Karachi, with a population of 20 million, is the only major seaport for Pakistan's total population of 127 million. Karachi was at one time the capital of Pakistan and for a long time was also its industrial hub. It is neither today.

The problems of Pakistan date back to the same post & shy;World War II breakup of the British Empire that created the Palestine problem. But the similarity ends there. In the Middle East, external forces dismantled the birth of a state of Palestine and created in its place the state of Israel in 1948, ejecting millions and making them stateless and destitute refugees.

In South Asia, internal circumstances caused the partitioning of the subcontinent into two independent states, India and Pakistan, in 1947. That year millions of Hindus crossed over from Pakistan into India, leaving behind their lands and properties. Similarly, millions of Muslims left India for Pakistan. Given the age-old animosities and suspicions, these twin migrations caused widespread bloodshed and tragedies.

Properties left behind by the Sikhs and the Hindus in West Punjab (now Pakistan) were mostly taken over by the Muslim Punjabis who had come in from East Punjab (now part of India). These Mohajirs (the word is taken from the Hijra of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Madina), by virtue of their linguistic and cultural affinity with the local population, soon became part of the mainstream and all are known now only as Punjabis.

The province of Sindh, of which Karachi is a part, was a different story. The Hindus who left Sindh for India were the rich propertied class, many of whom owned vast lands. Only a handful of the Sindhi Muslims who remained, like the Pirs, Mirs and the few Waderas (landlords), belonged to the wealthy class. Most were the Haries (peasants). Many of the Urdu-speaking Muslims who arrived in Sindh from various parts of India, particularly from the United Province (now Uttar Pradesh), belonged to the middle class. They settled down in Sindh and were compensated with the properties left behind by the Hindus. They formed a distinct urban class and have continued to be known as the Mohajirs.

The Urdu-speaking Mohajirs in Sindh joined the civil service of the infant state of Pakistan, and the Gujrati-speaking Mohajirs in Sindh helped set up industries in Karachi.

As the capital of the country and as an industrial base, Karachi also attracted a lot of other people. Pathans, Punjabis and Baluchis all arrived in Karachi looking for work and, for many years, literally everyone was gainfully employed. As the one-time fishing port evolved into a bustling metropolis, the indigenous Muslim population of Sindh, who had operated on the fringes before 1947, once again found themselves not fully in the driver's seat.

Just as the East Pakistanis (later Bangladeshis) complained of economic and political domination by the Western wing of the country, the Sindhis harbored similar grievances. The transfer of the national capital from Karachi to Islamabad in the 1960s, and the creation of the "One Unit" (administratively all of West Pakistan was brought into a single unit), downgraded the importance of Karachi and the political status of Sindh.

The subsequent breakup of the One Unit, which was destined to happen, brought to the fore interprovincial rivalries and misgivings as never before. The bloody secession of East Pakistan (which became Bangladesh) in December 1971 only underlined the fact that a common religion alone was not enough to keep different parts of the country together. While this message was clear to some, it still has not fully registered with others.

Compounding the Confusion

The introduction of the army into political affairs only compounded the confusion in public life. The army has run Pakistan for almost half of the young nation's history, but it never felt accountable or answerable to the people of Pakistan because they were never its constituency. Even the few civil administrations that have come into power have operated under the continuous threat of military coups. In spite of three recent elections and the re-establishment of democracy in the country, the army continues to cast its shadow over the government. Its presence as a political force is not lost on anyone. Sadly, even the weight of a foreign power is felt unmistakably at the time of major decision making. Elected governments are only marginally sovereign.

The numbers game that was started by the army generals is now being played by the politicians as well. The late Gen. Zia Ul Haq created the Mohajir Qaumi Movement (MQM) in Karachi and other urban Sindhi centers to offset the growing political influence of the People's Party, founded by Benazir Bhutto's father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, whom General Zia deposed and later executed. Subsequently, except for a small old-town area (Khadda-Lyari), Karachi has voted MQM to a man. It became a determining factor in the formation of the first two governments after General Zia's death by Benazir Bhutto and her political rival, Mian Nawaz Sharif. In the most recent National Assembly elections, MQM Chief Altaf Husain was prevailed upon to abstain in the face of serious criminal charges against himself and several of his party supporters.

The MQM, which champions the cause of Urdu-speaking Mohajirs, already has fought its political as well as physical battles with the Pathans, the Punjabis and the Sindhis. It now is battling a breakaway faction of its own—the MQM Haqqiqi.

As these events unfolded, Karachi first became a victim of the dacoits (bandits)and ransom seekers. Subsequently it was permeated by the drug trade and Kalishnakov culture. Presently, having boycotted the Assembly elections, the MQM has lost its earlier political clout in Islamabad and is fighting the Haqqiqi, the Sindhis and the establishment. The city is a nightmare. For example, although international flights arrive in Karachi during the night, incoming passengers don't go home before daylight.

MQM demands at one time included due representation in the administrative machinery, proportional representation in the formation of provincial and the central governments, equal economic opportunity, and procurement of adequate basic amenities of life in the city. Today, extremists among the MQM are seeking an autonomous Karachi unit. Nevertheless, it must be pointed out, if law and order are restored, the quality of life in Karachi is better than in many other parts of the country, including interior Sindh.

It also must be remembered that there are reasonable people on all sides of the issue. A recent series of articles written by Abdullah Memon, a retired senior Sindhi bureaucrat, titled "Facing Facts in Sindh" (English-language daily Dawn of Karachi), calls for a rational approach and an understanding of the legitimate demands of the MQM and the expectations of the rest of the people of Sindh. He rightly expects Prime Minister Bhutto to display statesmanship and meet Altaf Husain half-way in order to restore order and peace in Karachi. Perhaps such was also the purpose of the Clinton administration when it asked Benazir Bhutto to better protect the life and property of the people of Karachi.

It is true that the Karachi problem is an internal issue, but nevertheless it needs to be resolved promptly and equitably. Enough is enough.

M.M. Ali is a professor at the University of the District of Columbia in Washington, DC.