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پاکستان کی علمی ادبی صحافتی معاشرتی اورسیاسی حلقوں میں جب کبھی مظلوم قومیتوں کے حقوق اورجاری ناانصافیوں کا تذکرہ کیا جاتا ہے اس ذکر میں نجانے کیوں مہاجروں کے ساتھ جاری نصف صدی سے زاءد عرصہ پر محیط ناانصافیوں کو شامل الذکر نہیں کیا جاتا ۔http://www.mpmpakistan.com/Assets/UrduNews/2012/NowAndNever040112.pdf

Stranded Pakistanies in Bangladesh

Qasba Aligarh Massacre – a forgotten story

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpP-Nbde1UUQasba Aligarh Massacre – a forgotten story
It has been more than a decade and a half but by actually going back to what really happened haunts me to the core. I didn’t knew the extent of this massacre until only recently, yes, I am guilty as charged and it was only recently I met some of the survivors out of an accident to realize what really happened to the residents of a remote place named, Qasba Aligarh in Karachi. It really was a massacre.
Qasba Aligarh is located with-in Karachi limits and consists of basically poor and lower middle class Mohajir families living side by side by Pashtoons brothers who mainly resides on the mountains mostly Afghan migrants who settled during the Afghan-Soviet War. Qasba Aligarh was basically made as a colony for journalists where amenity plots were handed out to the residents but due to the distance from the city most journalists sold their plots or give out to their relatives mainly Muslim Migrants from India to Pakistan.

Background It all started from an administrative decision from the than Governor Sindh, Gen.Retd. Jahandad Khan who took the decision on the orders from the federal government to start an operation at what we know as Al-Asif Square at Sorab Goth, Karachi, an illegally encroached properties by Afghan migrants during the late and early 1980’s. During the Afghan War in the 1980’s against the Soviet Occupation and General Zia(s) manufactured Islam and Islamization of Society more than 4 million refugees from Afghanistan were welcomed in Pakistan as temporary refugees. It was suppose to be the largest concentration of refugees in the world after the Second World War.
Apparently, this migration of refugees had a huge socio-economic impact on the Pakistani Society where Afghan Migration into Urban Pakistan promoted the Kalashnikov, Drugs and Encroachment Culture in Pakistan, a country which was previously drug free and largely deweaponized was flooded with automatic weapons apart from the population of drug users shooting up to over a million in 1980’s, it’s around 4 million now officially.
Apparently a over whelming proportion of settlers from Afghanistan settled in Karachi, the economic hub of Pakistan and the criminal elements from them started what they did best: land grabbing of precious land in Karachi apart from spreading the gun and heroine culture in Pakistan. At a same time, another political party with strong links to the Afghanistan and NWFP criminally give them a political cover on the basis of Pashtun Nationalism.

The Operation at Al-Asif Square 
The Operation initiated by Governor on the orders of Federal Government was against the drug barons, land encroachers and criminal elements who had previously illegally occupied the area post Afghan War. A team was made by the than Governor, Gen.(retd) Jahandad Khan which consisted of Deputy Commissioner Karachi, Sardar Ahmed under him DIG Karachi, IGP, Sindh and Core Commander Karachi who were given duties to operate in the area and arrest criminal elements apart from relocation of illegal encroachers from Al-Asif Square to a new site at the National Highway.The tensions and political atmosphere was tense during those time where there earlier had been tensions

The Reaction 
Unfortunately, some of the Pashtoon Groups based in Karachi as always thought that any operation at Al-Asif Square is against Pashtoons (although it was purely against criminals regardless of their ethnicity) unfortunately, a political party with her origins in Mardan who had traditionally capitalized on Pashtoon sentiments yet again capitalized on the situation and portrayed the action against drug barons, encroachers and criminal elements as if it was against a certain ethnicity which created lot of tensions in the city and calls for revenge were vowed in corner meeting of the party belonging to Mardan.

Meanwhile, Army and Para-Military troops patrolled the tensed city and were deployed in almost every area for a possible reaction from the Pashtoon-Afghan community. Qasba was pin-pointed as a high-tension area and atleast 2 fully armed Army Units were deployed in advance apart from keeping the police on high alert.

The Killing Spree 
On December 15, 1986, a group of armed mostly Afghans with the backing of a Nationalist Political Party attacked the Aligarh, Orangi and Qasba colonies and adjacent areas of Karachi and killed innocent people, burnt shops and house] A total of 400 Mohajirs were killed in just two hours of this horrible massacre.
“They came inside out houses and asked for men”, “they killed indiscriminately with knifes and guns chanting Allah’o’Akber as if we were infidels” said one of the survivors who lost her father and elder brother sobbing and she was correct. Astonishingly mosques were used to mobilize people to kill and there were speeches and sermons given against the people living in Qasba Aligarh by pseudo Mullah’s that day branding Mohajirs as “Infidels” and that “killing them would take one to heaven”.

Mohammad Ibrahim another survivor who lost his elder brother told us that “they came in and started burning our houses, kicking the babies, raping our women and killing anyone in front of them …”.
More than 400 Mohajir Men and Women were brutally mutilated at Qasba Aligarh that day and nothing happened, no-one stopped them as if the establishment didn’t care about them , as if they were second class serfs who didn’t mattered. The question is: where were the law enforcement authorities? Where was the Army Unit employed by the government as a preventive measure for any reaction Post-Al-Asif
Operation against drug barons and arm-smugglers?

The details are not sketchy at all. On asking the survivors and those who were in administrative structure in Sindh during the time revealed a shocking tale of how the Army Unit deployed at Qasba was mysteriously pulled out just before the massacre and how police never reacted while the police station was less than a kilometer away from Qasba? All these questions were raised by the people of the area ; facts which are undeniable.

The army division which deployed to the Qasba Coloney was mysteriously pulled back just two hours before the incident took place whom you do think is responsible? I asked to a top administrative official who refused to be named and his reply was “whom you do think has the power to call the army back?, ofcourse the than Core Commander Karachi (name from Wikipedia). “ Obviously the Generals can not be questioned in Pakistan since they belong to the super-unquestionable class. The police? Well we in Karachi know their line of work? From Bushra Zaidi Case to the one recently in actually promoting land mafia in Karachi.

Justice Sajjad Ali Shah the former Chief Justice of Supreme Court is the man who wrote the inquiry report or the fact finding report which was send to Islamabad where he criticized, “army, administrative and governor’s role in the event and clearly wrote in the report, “that it is the worst kind of massacre I had ever witnessed, where women, children and men from Mohajir community were slaughtered by people from illegal immigrants and Core Commander Karachi should have questioned as to why Army was asked to retreat approximately 2 hours before the incident took take. There clearly seems to be a foul-play”. Obviously like any report and fact finding mission this was ignored by the federal government because the people who were killed were not “Pisser-e-Zameen” (Sons of the Soil).
And what’s more shocking is the total silence on this issue to this day? Except of MQM who was the only political party which actually protested heavily and got a compensation of Rs.4 carore approved for the victims.

And the hypocrisy of those who cry foul just to take political mileage from the 12th May incident, where were they when Qasba Aligarh Massacre took place? Imran Khan would be playing cricket during the time and probably would have laughed with sip of scotch as they were “Hindustoras”, a term he often used against the wheatish looking mustached, Mohajirs. Where was the so-called self-proclaimed, “Civil Society” as if the rest who didn’t agree with them were uncivil? Or the so called National and Religious Political Parties? 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpP-Nbde1UU

History of atrocities against Mohajirs

History of atrocities against Mohajirs

Truth is often bitter and not easily digested. Nowadays, a lot of criticism has been carried out against Mohajirs, the offspring of those who secured independence from British Raj and created Pakistan. Movement of Pakistan and Independence – It has been proclaimed from various forums that, at the time of Partition, Sindhis expressed warm hospitality towards Migrants (Mohajirs) and facilitated them by providing them land, jobs, opportunities etc.  Sindh is renowned as Shah Latif’s land, a land of peace and harmony – where neither discrimination nor prejudice exists. When Pakistan was created, a huge migration occurred and millions of Muslims migrated to Pakistan. It is a fact and part of the history that Sindhi Nationalists did not welcome those migrants (Mohajirs) with open arms and maintained a prejudiced attitude against them. It is also a well-known fact that robbery cases were lodged against those Mohajirs who, in order to cover up their modesty since they did not have clothes, pulled out a piece of cloth from migrant camps. Any individual can easily comprehend from the lines above, about the extent of detestation, unfair demeanour and prejudice against Mohajirs, which instigated the moment Pakistan was created and migration commenced. History of Pakistan is comprised of only 65 years. However, in such a short span of time, there are infinite number of tales about the atrocities, brutalities, racial hatred and inhuman treatment of Sindhi Nationalists towards Mohajirs. This war of racism and hatred against Mohajirs, which started in 1947 by few so-called Sindhi Nationalists is still underway in some shape, way or form. This is why, Mohajir youth should be well-aware of their past, which is only filled with atrocities and deprivation of fundamental rights. Brutal History and series of racial/ethnic discrimination in the current time have sown an idea in the minds of Mohajirs – the idea that there should be a separate Mohajir Province. Recently, the slogan of separate Mohajir province is being raised by Mohajirs. Today, Mohajirs have now concluded that they wouldn’t allow racist Sindhi nationalists to rule over the entire Mohajir Nation. Every member of Mohajir Nation; men, women, youth and elderly have now decided that they would prefer to die standing than to live on their knees. On 21st December 1947, the then Chief Minister Sindh Ayub Khorho made a statement that, ”Total number of migrants have reached 300,000 now and it has been agreed that only 700,000 migrants will be settled in Sindh – therefore, those migrants who couldn’t afford to buy a house or start a business should not move to Sindh.” Is this the hospitality that Sindhi Nationalists speak about, time and again, in their speeches that ‘Sindhis provided land, opportunities etc. to Mohajirs and welcomed them.’ Ghazanfar Ali Khan, the then Minister of Migrants, raised voice against unfair and inhumane treatment of Mohajirs in Sindh and requested Sindhis to refrain from racially offensive behaviour against Mohajirs.  On the other hand, Ayub Khorho (the then Chief Minister Sindh) delivered a speech on 8th January 1948, in which he openly said that Mohajirs must be prevented from settling in Sindh. Unfair treatment towards Mohajirs, who sacrificed everything in the name of Pakistan, even made Syed Hashim Hussaini (Secretary All India Muslim League) to break his silence – he said that Mohajirs in Sindh are facing strict policies, and this should be stopped. Whoever speaks in favour of Mohajirs, had to pay heavy price of it. Pir Elahi Bakhsh resigned since everyone turned a deaf ear to his appeals to treat Mohajirs fairly and justly. A well-known philanthropist and the then Collector of Karachi, Raza Ahmed had to leave Karachi, since he supported Mohajirs and worked day in and day out, in order to help and facilitate needy Mohajirs. Controller Mehmood-ul-Hassan was murdered since he was very vocal about settlement of Mohajirs in Sindh. Moulana Abdul Qudoos Bihari was arrested and expelled from Sindh because he raised voice against government’s unfair policies for Mohajirs. On 6th April 1948, Ghazanfar Ali Khan, delivered a speech in Model Town, Lahore, in which he said that “Pakistan is not created to serve vested interests of few people; if this is the case then I think Movement of Pakistan was worthless.” He also stated that “5 million Mohajirs are not provided with settlement facilities, but they have just been given a temporary stay or refuge in Sindh.” At that time, unfair treatment of Mohajirs became a big issue and after reading various news reports, Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah also raised her voice on this matter. In the vicinity of Burns Road (Karachi), Police performed an operation to vacate houses from Mohajirs, batoned innocent women and also beat up and arrested the protestors. When Mohajirs went to the Police Station to bail out those who got arrested, they were abused by Police and banned from entering Police Station. On this matter, Fatima Jinnah issued a statement of condemnation and said that Mohajirs must not stop raising voice against the atrocities and she will take part in any protests by Mohajirs in the future. On 9th April 1948, Jang Editorial mentioned that “Migration of Mohajirs from Pakistan back to India has commenced. We pointed out the matter of rehabilitation and settlement of down-trodden Mohajirs in our earlier publications and requested government to take action, but it seems that voices of Mohajirs will not be heard by the establishment that resides in palaces. It is an appalling situation/disaster that Mohajirs who came to world’s only Islamic state (Pakistan), in the name of Islam, to get refuge from Infidels brutalities, are now willing to risk their lives by migrating back to India, since their own brothers are not ready to facilitate them.” On 15th January 1949, a local weekly newspaper published an article on the issue of increasing animosity of local Sindhis towards Mohajirs. A slogan was raised by Sindhi Nationalists that ‘Sindh belongs to Sindhis’. At the same time, Daily Jang published an editorial ‘Background of a Dangerous Conspiracy’ in which it was illustrated that Abdul Majeed Sindhi held a meeting in Jinnah Courts and raised a slogan of separate Sindhi identity. Moreover, Association of Journalists in Sindh which was regulated and supported by Government of Sindh, banned the membership of Urdu Journalists / Writers. In current times, Mohajir Columnists, Journalists and Intellectuals are still being ethnically discriminated, due to the policies of racist leaders and government officials. Racial discrimination, hatred and unfair treatment towards Mohajirs, left Pakistan Muslim League Council with no other option than to pass a resolution to form Karachi a Mohajir province. Although, Sindhi Nationalists protested against this resolution, but on 22nd October 1951 resolution was passed to announce Karachi a separate province. This resolution was presented by H. Jafar; 81 voted for the formation of province and only 3 voted against. Only 2 days later, Quami Mohaz declared the Council’s decision and Convenor of Jinnah Awami League Hussain Shaheed Suharwardi made a speech in favour of this decision. Unfortunately, few Mohajirs did not offer full support to this movement due to which this issue was sidelined. Today, political, social, economical and educational genocide of Mohajir Nation is being carried out by Sindhi Nationalists. In the last couple of years, thousands of Mohajirs have been brutally killed and Mohajir Nation is being deprived of their fundamental rights, since there mandate is not accepted by Sindhi Nationalists. History repeats itself, but Mohajir Youth will not repeat the blunders committed by 1st generation of Mohajirs – they will not stop until they get their own province ‘Mohajir Province’ as voices are heard from every nook and corner that Mohajirs are now UNITED! We shall live in peace some day, We’ll walk hand in hand some day We shall live our dream some day, Deep in our hearts, we do believe We shall overcome some day.

Demand for a Mohajir Province

Mohajir are peace loving, democratic, liberal, educated and skilled patriotic Pakistani, who firmly believes in non violence, democratic struggle for their rights and to play constitutional role for a separate province. Mohajirs wants their basic rights; they nor want to become master and neither to be slave of any community.
Mohajirs are patriotic Pakistani who believes in the integrity and solidarity of Pakistan. However, it is a universally accepted principle that geographical boundaries of province are not considered sacrosanct. It is imperative that the prevailing sense of deprivation and deliberate denial of legitimate rights is felt intensely amongst Mohajirs. If the sense of deprivation germinating amongst Saraiki’s and Hazarawal community can not be overlooked and the demand of Saraiki province and Hazara province are to be justified and considered natural then it is also not be overlooked the demand of Mohajir province. Because Mohajirs are a separate nation, they have their language, culture, custom and dress. They are living in Sindh province but still not consider as a Sindhi by every government and Sindhi nationalists. Mohajirs are also victimised like Saraiki and Hazara community in every walk of life like higher educational institutes and employment.
It is also bounded duty of a democratic government to take notice of such discontent and if any community demands demarcation and of provincial boundaries which they strongly believe would ensure their due share in their economic, social and cultural development, then to brand it as a crime or treason is not only irrational but despotic.
It is not unusual for states to redemarcate the boundaries of provinces, prefectures, districts etc. for administrative, revenue and demographic considerations. When for the sake of better administration and management, states had to resort to a process of redemarcation of one or more provinces or create a new province from existing one. Such measures were just matters of expediency and common sense and accepted as good management principles – examples being formation of one unit and its subsequent break. Even now balochis, Saraikis and Hazarawall community are demanding their due share, representation in federal government, its services including defence service and for separate province. In the same way, Mohajirs have been subjected to subjugation and deprivation beyond all limits and are now demanding due representation in the establishment and for Mohajir province.
Looking realistically into those demands is the only just and sensible way of dealing with deep rooted discontent. Due to continuous injustice and repression, the such a level that they are left with no option but to demand a separate Mohajir province for their vary survival, without threatening due rights of any other community.
Now, every Mohajir reached this conclusion that Mohajirs are not accepted as “ Son of the Soil” they have no identity, they have no land and they are not allowed to become Chief Minister of Sindh therefore, all Mohajir should unite under the banner of Mohajir Province.
It is not unnatural or harmful to any country in the world to have more provinces or states. This action gives more power and rights to the people. Giving more rights to the people in any country strengthens the federation. Our two immediate neighbours Afghanistan has 34 Provinces, India has 28 states and 7 union territories and United States has 51 states.