Why to Blame MQM for Target Killing?

 Kashifiat carefully dealt with the Issue of Target Killing in Karachi without blaming or naming any political party, however, the supporters of MQM proved that it’s MQM which lack political tolerance and is thus responsible for the target Killings in Karachi. 

Kashif had written a balanced post and obviously the aim was to ridicule the illness and not the patient.

“The question raised by common people on the street is that why is this all happening? My answer is very simple “Lack of political tolerance”.

But if the patient says Ridicule Me?

Now two news stories in the mainstream media, Dawn and The News which  compelled me to change the tagline of my Blog “The news you won’t find in Pakistani Media” to “The news you would rarely find in PAKISTANI Media”

According to Dawn (Monday, 08 Jun, 2009);

“Nadeem Brohi, a former zonal in-charge of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Jacobabad, has been arrested after law-enforcement agencies allegedly found in his possession a huge quantity of arms and ammunition brought from Balochistan for Karachi.” He was arrested after police reported recovering Kalashnikov rifles, rocket launchers, hand grenades and a large quantity of bullets, packed in cartons, from his car. He had come from Balochistan and was proceeding to Karachi.”

Doesn’t this prove that who is responsible for Karachi Target Killing? Even if NO, for what purpose was he carrying Kalashnikov rifles, rocket launchers, and hand grenades? For the security of 9Zero which in fact is symbol of ZeroTolerance? Especially Zero tolerance for those who have committed treason by leaving Altaf Hussain and joining dissident Afaq Ahmed.

Please before commenting on this story read the must read story “Victim of renewed violence” By Adnan Adil in the “News on Sunday” which has exposed the so-called mass party MQM. It won’t be  fair if we didn’t thank our mainstream media for this courage though very rare.

“MQM-Haqiqi followers have come out of their hideouts after seven long years — with the hope that their dissident leader Amir Khan is about to be freed from jail. Political observers had been waiting for a bloodbath, as it is a set pattern in Karachi for the last one decade that political activism by any group other than MQM-Altaf is followed by bloody violence.

In the first 10 days of this month (June 1-11) 52 people have been gunned down in the city, including political workers and common people. Among the dead, 24 workers belong to Haqiqi faction of the MQM, 8 belong to the MQM-Altaf, four to the PPP, one to the PML-N and two to the Jamaat-i-Islami.

It is alleged that the recent city killings are a prelude to a power struggle in Karachi following the imminent release of jailed Haqiqi leaders Afaq Ahmed and Amir Khan. MQM-Haqiqi squarely puts blame on MQM-Altaf for the recent killing spree. The Jamaat-i-Islami, Jamiat Ulema-i- Pakistan (JUP) and the Awami National Party (ANP) share the same view. Reportedly, Haqiqi’s General Secretary Shamshad Ghuri said the other day that “Every year, as the month of June starts, which is when the MQM-Haqiqi celebrates its founding month, rival gangs start targeting and killing their workers to instil fear among them.” Haqiqi alleges that in the last seven years, 400 of its workers have been killed by the rival faction in a bid to wipe out opposition from the city.

MQM-Altaf leader Haider Abbas Rizvi says it is a conspiracy against the party to involve it in these killings. The party leaders say that the Haqiqis are involved in eliminating the activists belonging to the two Haqiqi factions and that it is wrongly being involved in the massacre. Haqiqi stands divided around these two main leaders. The city’s Liaqatabad area (aka Laloo Khait) is considered the bastion of Amir Khan and Landhi area is the supposed to be a stronghold of Afaq Ahmed.

A number of those MQM activists who have been shot dead in recent days are those who had defected back to it after leaving the Haqiqi group. Haqiqi leaders say that due to mass persecution of their activists, they had allowed their workers to join the MQM-Altaf to save their lives and now they were returning to their own faction. Thus, with the stepped-up activities of MQM-Haqiqi groups, the loyalty of the defected workers became suspect in the eyes of those who matter in the city.

A number of these activists have again gone into hiding. Haqiqi (Afaq group)’s leader Akhtar Hussain is reported to have said that 15 of their workers are missing and the party fears they would be killed. Such is the fear of targeted killing that a number of police wardens recruited in recent years on political recommendations disappeared from their duty places because they could be target of retaliation by the opposing groups.

The towns of Landhi, Korangi, Malir, Shah Faisal, North Karachi and Jamshed Town are the areas where most killings have taken place. Since Haqiqi came into action, a tension prevails in these areas and the men armed with sophisticated weapons patrol the streets. Haqiqi factions allege that the police are also victimising them by raiding on their activists’ homes and dismantling their offices. Feroze Haider, the spokesman of Haqiqi (Amir group), is reported to have said, “The police have arrested the relatives of our workers and despite our efforts Sindh Home Minister Zulfikar Mirza did not give them an audience.” However, the Home Minister has repeatedly said the government is carrying out operation against the criminals without any discrimination and has so far arrested 40 suspects.

In last two years, Imran Khan has also emerged as a factor in Karachi’s politics. The walls of the city carry slogans with abusive language against him since he lodged a criminal complaint against MQM’s Chief Altaf Hussain in London. It is believed that to gather evidence against Altaf Hussain, Imran Khan sought help from Altaf’s detractor Afaq Ahmed’s group which they provided to him. Of late, Imran Khan has been making efforts to bridge differences between Afaq Ahmed and Amir Khan. The teaming up of Imran Khan with Altaf Hussain’s detractors in Karachi is also said to be obvious cause of concern for the party. Imran Khan also alleges that Karachi police has been packed with the people affiliated with one party in power alluding to the MQM (Altaf group).

It could be a mere coincidence that whenever a political group other than MQM-Altaf starts some activity in the city of Karachi, the city is drowned in mass killings. A religio-political group Sunni Tehreek gained strength and demonstrated its power by organising big public rallies. On April 11, 2006 at a rally in Nishtar Park, Karachi, the entire leadership of the party was eliminated in a bomb explosion that left more than 50 people dead and hundreds wounded.

On May 12, 2007 the mass violence took place when the Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry tried to enter Karachi against the wishes of the party that was closely allied with the then President Pervez Musharraf. Last year, the Tehreek-i-Insaaf chief Imran Khan tried to enter the city but was refused entry by the government. When a few months back the ANP, which won two provincial seats from the city in 2008 elections, got into action, the clashes and targeted killings of its political workers took place.

It could also be just a coincidence that whenever private news channels broadcast anything that goes against a party in power, they are threatened and attacked — as the offices of Aaj TV came under attack on May 12, 2007. It is a common observation that even if a news channel dares not to live broadcast the party’s function, its transmission through cable network is taken off in the city. With political opponents prevented from political activities and media gagged to report censorship on gunpoint, the future of the city looks gloomy to say the least.