8 June 1999

The Chairman
Human Rights Asia Conference
"Ways of Governance and Human Rights in South Asia"
Capitol Hill
Washington D.C.
USA

Mr. Chairman

Firstly, I would like to thank you and the Human Rights Asia for inviting me in the Conference and secondly, for providing me an opportunity of speaking to this august body and the distinguished delegates.

My concerns about the violent deterioration in Pakistan and in particular in Karachi, Hyderabad and other urban centres of Sindh province, southern Pakistan are two fold.

Firstly, it is the concern of a democratic politician about Human Rights abuses wherever.

The present crisis which centres on the status of the Mohajir nation goes to the very heart of the viability of the State of Pakistan whose foundation is premised on the theory presented by Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah during the Freedom Movement for Pakistan that there were and are two nations in the Indian sub-continent – one Muslim and one Hindu. It follows in accordance with the classical theory and practice of nation states that there should be a state to accommodate the Muslim Nation, irrespective of ethnicity and racism. The British Labour Government acting under a sincere but hasty desire to concede independence found it expedient to reluctantly but eventually go along with the practical implications of this two nations theory. Pakistan started as a theory, which had to be proven.

This, in my view, explains the stridency of some propaganda about Pakistani nationhood. The chronic lack of confidence remarked by outsiders stems from the fact that Pakistan justified itself negatively. That is, it is that part of the sub-continent which is not India. This holds true in essence after the separation of the former East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, that resulted out of repression and genocide committed by one hegemonic group having military and bureaucratic power.

The disparate regions, which make up Pakistan, do really have a logical dynamic to create a nation from within – but by a kind of contradictory dependence the nation builders could define the nation by the threat from outside. Without detracting from the very real issues of Kashmir, there is no question that playing the genuine concern for the plight of fellow Muslims in Kashmir has been useful device for manipulating public opinion to foster a sense of common identity in Pakistan.

My own fear is that, to use the vivid and revealing phrase of "an enemy within", it suits the ruling elite to have "an enemy within" to forge a national hegemony and that in the case of successive Pakistani governments the Mohajirs are that "enemy within". It is the bitterest of ironies that the Mohajirs should cast in that role for they were the exponent of the "two nation theory", whose emigration to a new land has not been successfully integrated. Their original superior democratic vision and belief, secularism, flexibility, distinct but non-feudalistic culture, training and education gave them an initial advantage which was used by the ruling oligarchies for building the infrastructure of the country ranging from industries, commerce, trade, educational and democratic institutions. And, later the deliberate erosion of that advantage and denial of their basic rights are major factor in Mohajir discontent. Those characteristic of the Mohajirs could yet be catalyst for modernising Pakistan. However, their qualities and their contingent demands have put the Mohajirs on collision course with dominant and undemocratic forces of the feudal aristocracy and other ruling oligarchies.

The establishment of a party expressly to represent Mohajir opinion and ninety-eight percent of the middle class, downtrodden and oppressed people opinion – the MQM is surely a sign of lack of integration of the Mohajir nation particularly and the denial of basic rights of the ninety-eight percent of the people generally. The main irritant is the challenge the MQM poses by its clearly stated opposition to the corrupt ruling and feudal oligarchies.

It must be said and noted that MQM continues to receive overwhelming support through the ballot box since its creation and through out its history, even during the worst repression, adequate vindication of governments propaganda and irrefutable claim of the MQM to be representative of a substantial section of opinion. This electoral support should also legitimise its cause internationally and refutes the charge that the MQM needs terrorism to advance its cause.

A further complication for which the West and the USA in particular bears heavy responsibility is the destabilisation of Pakistan caused during the Afghan/Soviet Union Crisis.

Pakistan and its main port Karachi became the major conduit for arms deliveries to the anti-Soviet forces. Even if there were desire to do so, it is difficult to control such activities and arming the Afghan resistance led to large numbers of Pakistanis being drawn into profiting from clandestine operations. Such networks have a life of their own which survives their original cause and they compete in the cruellest and most violent manner for influence, particularly when they were and are co-opted by the successive governments and its Established in the name of religious fanaticism and "Jihad".

Amnesty International on various occasions opined that law and order situation in Pakistan and in Karachi has exacerbated by such rogue elements criminally profiting from general confusion. Moreover, the successive governments and the Establishment have also profited by co-opting these rogue elements by giving the political cover and impunity to silence their political oppositions and dissents, example being the State sponsored and patronised "Haqiqis".

The actual events leading to the present crisis and the details of the Human Rights abuses against the Mohajir Nation and the MQM leaders, office bearers, workers, supporters and their relatives, which are escalating, are documented elsewhere. I refer to my own prime source of information; the reports of the Special Rapporteur of the UN Commission on Human Rights presented by Sir Nigel Rodley and Asma Jehangir during the recently held 55^th Session of the Commission on Human Rights in Geneva. Also the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and the Amnesty International. They have accounted the details of the unlawful detention, inhuman torture, custodial deaths and extra-judicial executions, even the European Parliament have raised concerns over the arrests and brutal torture on my colleagues, the Deputy Parliamentary Leader in the Provincial Assembly of Sindh, the Member of the Co-ordination Committee of MQM and a leading lawyer, Mr. Shoaib Bukhari, my other colleagues who are also elected members of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh, are Mr. Wakeel Ahmed Jamali and Mr. Afzal Anwar, also facing unlawful detention and torture and passed resolution in such terms.

It seems to me that spiral of violence targeted against the Mohajir nation and the MQM was and is Government orchestrated and the successive Pakistani governments including the Government of Nawaz Sharif are responsible for the break out of violence.

The MQM must surely be heard when it warns that it may lose restraining influence if the Government does not curb the excesses of its own forces and terrorists "switched on" and "switched off" time and again and also withdraw the impunity granted to them. The resolution to this and other ethno-linguistic cultural minorities and religious minorities conflict through meaningful dialogue and democratic process is vital for the future of Pakistan. Pakistan played a constructive role in achieving a settlement in the GATT Round a couple of years ago, yet the country in unlikely to draw the benefits of trade liberalisation and foreign investment if its only port Karachi is paralysed with the view to conquer it through State terrorism and propaganda campaign and its people whose entrepreneurial skills could act as a catalyst feel excluded and persecuted. Sindh including Karachi cannot be conquered, the permanent residents of Sindh, Mohajirs and Sindhis have different genetic make-up, their history is replete of struggles and victories. However, it may be that such an outcome might serve the interest of reactionary elements in Pakistan.

Continued social conflicts and repression in Pakistan can only delay the necessary reconciliation between Pakistan and India. The abiding distrust between two countries with nuclear weapons is a destabilising factor in the region. Only a Pakistan with its ethnic tensions channelled into true democratic expression can have the confidence to negotiate with an India, hopefully also free from similar tensions.

Finally, on the simple but all important level of the Human Rights to live in peace, the State orchestrated violence and repression of Mohajirs through brute force must stop, unless Karachi and Sindh is to become the Beirut of 1990 and Kosova today.

Thank you for your attention.