The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), then a coalition partner of the government in Sindh and “generally considered as the government of Karachi,” held a rally against what it termed as the politicization of the Chief Justice issue. On, 48 people were killed and hundreds injured in Karachi as riots broke out during the visit of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry who was, at the time, facing a presidential reference. The mobilization of Mohajir identity, and the MQM’s role in this identity formation, is a valuable case study of the means by which ethnicity can become a symbol of identity when threatened and how in the face of failure to provide for basic socioeconomic needs, a political party based on ethnic mobilization can gain ground. While the party’s support base remains strong, and the following of its leader, Altaf Hussain, borders on god-like veneration and reverence, many others view the MQM as a fascist organization and accuse it of employing terrorist techniques to achieve its aims. Over the years, the party-cum-political movement has seen a change not only in its name (becoming the Muttahida Qaumi Movement), but also ostensibly its central ideology. Bhutto and Zia-ul-Haq struggled to deal effectively with increasing demands made on ethnic grounds, particularly on behalf of Sindhis. Socio-economic factors were integral both to the MQM’s immediate impact and to the cementing of a common notion of Mohajir identity, as was the failure of successive governments to achieve their goals of state-building and nation-building. Its success in tapping into an increasing sense of Mohajir insecurity was evident upon its formation as the party gained, almost overnight, the support of the majority of the Mohajir community. ( The MQM, Pakistan’s third largest political party, was formed in the mid-1980s as the Mohajir Qaumi Mahaz to represent the interests of the Mohajir (migrant) community.
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