I realise that some of you are unaware of the reasons behind the formation of MQM. I'm throwing out a disclaimer here that this is not about the history after 1990 and I don't support any action of MQM after that period. I am talking about the period before that and the reasons why the people of Karachi support this party. I would also like to thank S.Y.A for enlightening me on some of the points.
Background
This extends to well before the APMSO or MQM came into being. However, this explains a lot of things. Let's start with the elections in 1965. Fatima Jinnah was beaten in an election that many called unfair. What happened after this is important. There were many protests and then Gohar Ayub took out a victory rally through Laloo Khet, an area where Fatima Jinnah was supported. The Pakhtoons he brought in were used to kill many Urdu Speaking people who supported Fatimah Jinnah. This led to riots, and eventually Ayub Khan had to resign. After this, Bhutto was elected to power. This incident is the start of the MQM for many.
What happens next is that Bhutto came to power, after the separation of East Pakistan. Many in Karachi went to protest. Now a famous incident of Gohar's work was that he dragged a girl around town with a Sandal around her neck calling her, "Madar-e-Millat", as an insult to Fatimah Jinnah. Many called on Bhutto to take action against him and some people told him this with sandals in their hands.
This infuriated Bhutto and he used the FSF on the people. Symbolically, Bhutto replaced the attacks on some people with sticks, with attacks with guns. Therefore, this problem grew greater and greater, until once again rumors of rigging led to mass protests and another change came in. However, this next phase officially marks the start of the MQM.
History
Altaf Hussain and his class mates protested against the quota system by burning their examination papers and the APMSO was born. Just then, there are still allegations that he burnt the flag. I personally don't believe them but if you consider the past 20 years of history up to that point, I wouldn't blame him if it were true.
In response, there was now a new massacre, the Aligarh colony massacre. Women were raped, children killed and an entire colony decimated. The same was repeated at the Qasba colony. Altaf Hussain called a mass meeting and announced that he would take on the Pakhtoons who did this. Sadly, it led to, as usual, mass killing of a race instead of the targets. Zia Ul Haq supported the MQM at this point, for obvious reasons.
1. The Pakhtoons supported the PPP and Bhutto
2. The people were being slaughtered for no reason.
Therefore, armed well, MQM took on the Pashtuns and called for their removal from Karachi. This led to more and more killings until Benazir returned.
A short word about the army operation that Ms.Bhutto then made. It was not fair, it was not good. It was done because the people did not support PPP. It is on record that many civilians were killed just for being Muhajirs.
Conclusion
What happened till the 90's is just a travesty of justice and it is hoped this will never happen. However, this does NOT excuse the Bhatta Khori of today but it explains it. MQM is a reactionary party to a violent event which turned into a political one. It may not be perfect but past events show why Karachi votes for them.
Massacres take years to forget and the last one was under 20 years ago. Is it a surprise that people still vote MQM?
The nation must take responsibility for what happened over that time. That is the way to progress.
JAHIL admi say behaas kaarna jahalat hoti hai I keep forgetting! please go READ what you wrote! that BHUTTO did make Urdu the national language!
this guy is really the dumbest guy i have ever encountered
