Re: Pashtuns in Karachi Unite
Well said!
It is also time that my Urdu People (UP) community got rid of clearly fascistic parties like MQM and JI influence from our great and shining city on the hill called Karachi.
Re: Pashtuns in Karachi Unite
Mr. Hustler25, I am not against Muhajirs. I don't even like calling them Muhajirs now that they are as sons of the soil as others. Neither I approve of what Said Akbar, or General Babur, or General Akbar Khan did (Instead I loathe them). All these people were part of the bureaucracy British created to make secure and maintain their colonial system. This bureaucracy served British imperial interests and after partition turned into a neo-colonialist force with exception that the White Masters were replaced by Brown Masters. It conquered, oppressed, and disgraced its own people again and again and in the process insulted the whole nation. If your own brother cannot give you respect, how can others? Remember, how this bureaucracy calls "civilians" as "bloody civilians" considering them low and unable to think and act properly.
How can one love persons associated with or serving such a bureaucracy? Poinsonous snakes cannot be loved!
However, past should be studied and explained as objectively as possible. And one should be above ethnic affiliation when one does it. My intention here isn't to see it as a Pashtun or as a Punjabi but as an impartial student of historical events. I have the following contentions about the personality and dead of Liaqat Ali Khan and other characters.
- Liaqat Ali Khan had a fudal background. The problem with the landlords was that the peasontary that worked on their lands was mostly Hindu. Modernization with the Western concept of democracy, human rights, secularism, and liberty had engendered awareness in these Hindu subjects with regard to their rights. Congress with its rank and file dominated by an agressive Hindu urban middle class, was pursuing a socialist agenda puting great emphasis on land reforms. This directly conlicted with the interests of the Muslim lanlords and fudals of Muslim minority provinces. The Muslim elite of these provinces tries to find space in the existing political platforms when political reforms were introduced in British India but their Hindu subjects were not willing to vote for them. They, therefore, raised the demand for separate electorate for Muslim in order to claim a share in the new poltico-administrative system based on Western model (old system built-around fudalsim and despotic rule, where access to power and resources could be gained by pledgeing allegiance to monarch, had been, for most of its part, replaced). A divided India along communal lines and so easy to control/administer also suited British interests.
I mean it wasn't entirely for the love of Muslim that the elite of Muslim minority provinces advocated the Muslim cause. Liaqat Ali Khan himself tried to find a foothold in non-communal political platforms. At one time, probably in 1937, he sat on the benches of agriculturalist party. After partition, he migrated to Pakistan, because in the new state he foresaw a big role for himself. What would have he achieved had he stayed back in Karnal?
After partition, he developed differences with Qaud-i-Azam. In fact, his relations with Fatima Jannah were adverse, who blamed him for deiberately neglecting her brother's illness. Many historians think he didn't like his lameduck role as a prime minister under the domineering personality of Qaud-i-Azam, in whom, virtually all the authority was vested. Many sources e.g. "My Brother" by Fatima Jannah and book of Colonal Dr. Ilahi Bakhsh, personal doctor of Qaud-i-Azan testify this.
After death of Qaud, he indulged, like an ordinary politician, in a tug of war with bureaucracy and politicians from Punjab to decide who would have the leading role in new Pakistan, Muhajirs or Punjabis. He tried to strengthen his position by establishing his Muhajir constituency and entering into an alliance with rural fudal lords of Punjab ignoring the aspirations and ambitions of the urban middle class that had emerged in Panjab since 1857. In the decades following 1857 mutiny, British had focussed on Punjab laying down an extensive land irrigation system leading to sharp rise in agricultural productivity and emergence of commodity markets and a prosperous land-based class. Moreover, owing to the strategic location of Punjab, Britsih had recruited Punjabis heavily in the colonial military as well as civil bureaucracy, especially in WW I and WW II. Numerous urban centers had emerged in Punjab, especially Central, with a large skilled and educated middle class. It was this class from Lahore, Faisal Abad, Sialkot, Gujrat, etc. that was competing with Muhjairs for the huge opportunities that had arisen due the state-building process in the newly-emerged Pakistan.
Why Liaqat Ali Khan choose fudals as allies? Answer is obvious! Fudals throughout history have cared about their own interests. The docile and complacent subjects living under fudal rule in rural areas usually have ethnic self-consciousness but not political feelings. Urban middle classes are usually highly politicised ( aware and sensitive to as how power and resources should be distributed in society...).
- The March 1951 Punajb elections were highly rigged and Liaqat Ali Khan was blamed for it. He also tried to keep his staunch adversary, Hussain Shaheed Suharwardi, out of League Council and Parliament. This wasn't according to democratic attitude.
Whatever, it isn't wise to raise individuals to the status of prophets and keep the present and coming generations in dark. An objective view of history would make them rational and accommodative. This in turn will lead to awareness with regard to a stable political system.
The slogans of Pakistaniyat and Islamic brotherhood are only tools for exploitation and class oppression. When one studies history, one doesn't see any Pakistaniyat and Isamic brotherhood from day one of the inception of Pakistan. All we see in the history of Pakistan is the struggle for ethnic, institutional, and individual domination couched in sweet terms like "Pakistaniyat" and "brotherhood".
It is strange that the leaders of Pakistan didn't have any vision and practical plans with regard to a reprsentative and equitable system giving individuals, classes, and nationalities sense of participation and empowerment.
Re: Pashtuns in Karachi Unite
Dawns reported on the recent protests
http://dawn.com/2006/06/21/op.htm#2
Why make people homeless?
By Zubeida Mustafa
IT IS ironical that it required a massive show of strength in the form of a large demonstration in Karachi on June 2 to get the city government to stop the demolition of katchi abadis it had been carrying on in a very determined way.
The protest rally organised by the Pakhtoon Action Committee two weeks ago blocked the main arteries of Karachi and caused such a traffic jam that the administration was forced to rethink its policies — at least for the present.
Those who protested had many grievances. Their main grouse was against the forced eviction of the dwellers of the katchi abadis and the demolition of their homes which the city government has undertaken as a part of its so-called gentrification programme. In the name of renewal and rebuilding of Karachi under a new master plan still on the anvil, the city fathers have bulldozed 3,490 housing units since January 2006. Apart from these, nearly 14,000 housing units and shops have been demolished since 2002 to make room for the Lyari Expressway project. The transporters joined the demonstration to add to the size of the procession.
Daily reports by the press at times fail to create an impact. But seen collectively, the human suffering is colossal. It is estimated that over 23,000 people have been made homeless in the process and their monetary loss is calculated to be to the tune of Rs 1.047 billion which they had invested in the construction of their homes. If people are upset it is understandable. Describing the katchi abadis as eyesores and the havens of criminals and the land grabbers, the city administration has moved to strike them down . It has justified its action by terming the abadis as encroachments that are illegal.
There are two aspects of this issue that have been totally disregarded. First, the modality of the eviction has not been as humane and compassionate as it should have been. Secondly, there is the issue of pinning responsibility for encroachment when it takes place and if it is morally and legally correct to penalise the so-called encroachers when others have committed a graver crime.
As has been reported widely, the evictions have been carried out brutally with the use of force, without any prior notice and no compensation or alternative land being given to the affected people. None of the internationally recognised guidelines for development-related evictions were observed. It should be stressed that all the people who are thrown out are the poorest of the poor. It is wrong to declare them wrongdoers who have breached the law and illegally seized government land.
One has to understand the process of encroachment to realise how wronged the inhabitants of katchi abadis are. In Karachi alone six million people live in 539 katchi abadis. They are the people whose fundamental right to adequate housing and shelter has not been recognised. They are forced to fend for themselves.
Since the government does not feel it is its duty to provide low cost housing for them — Karachi needs 25,000 housing units a year — they are forced to turn to the land grabbers. The land grabbers do for the poor what the government should have been doing. After all, isn’t it the state’s duty to provide the poor land at affordable prices, with possession given without delay? At present, land for low cost housing is not that low in cost and formal documentation involves weeks of legal processes and repeated visits to various offices.
The land grabber is in league with the police and the functionaries of the local government. Together they ensure that the so-called encroachers are allowed to settle on the land the land mafia has seized illegally and charged the poor to erect their homes on. The poor build a shelter for themselves incrementally as they gradually invest in adding concrete structure, getting electricity, gas and water connections.
All this takes quite a few years. When they are evicted, as is happening now, their earnings of a lifetime are lost. Meanwhile, the mafia, the police and the revenue department officials who had become rich by selling land they had grabbed free of cost cannot be traced and get away with their loot.
The key question is who is responsible for the problem of encroachments? The fact is that the appetite for land seems to be insatiable. It is increasingly being controlled by market forces. That is why we keep hearing of so many land scams. There is the common phenomenon of utility land being commercialised and land being unlawfully allotted. According to Arif Hasan, the chairman of the Urban Resource Centre and the OPP-RTI, 8,000 acres of amenity land has been converted into commercial plots in Karachi since the early nineties.
Tasneem Siddiqui, who retired recently as the director general of the Sindh Katchi Abadis Authority and has contributed in a big way towards housing for the poor, pins the blame on the revenue department which is notorious for its corruption. He cites the case of the Sindhi goths which have existed for centuries and naturally have no legal documentations. The revenue department failed to demarcate them and as a result it is now difficult to even determine the boundaries of the goths and where the encroachments begin. For the present, the evictions have mercifully stopped, but it is unlikely that the policy will be abandoned altogether. Those whose homes have been demolished have had to move to the periphery of the city, again on state land. Those who could not find new homes continued to squat in the open on the rubble of their homes. Of course, the land mafia must be having a field day in the process. But for many, this shifting will bring unemployment, uprooting from their social support structures, an end to their children’s education and psychological trauma from which they may never recover.
Since the law provides for the notification of many of these katchi abadis, the government should provide the lease to those who have not received it so far. The basic intention should be to cause the minimum of uprooting and suffering. There will be some abadis that might have to be razed to the ground. That should be done as a last resort and only after due notice has been given and alternative land provided. A resettlement policy will have to be formulated before anyone is evicted.
In most other cases, it should be possible for the city government to upgrade and improve the katchi abadis themselves so that they do not remain black spots in a city the administration is attempting to gentrify.
But that is only possible if our rulers approach the poor with empathy and attempt to understand their needs and how they strive to meet their needs. Policies which take the needs of the people into account will succeed.
It is also important that the greed, cupidity and avarice of the vested interests who act in league with the government functionaries are not allowed to play with the lives of the people. Since corruption is so rampant in the government, the land grabbers can get away with their evil ways.
It is time the administration stopped looking for its political gains at the expense of the poor. A general impression is that most of the people uprooted are not Mohajirs, hence they do not constitute the vote bank of the MQM that is in power in the local government and in the Sindh provincial coalition. Quite a chunk of the evictees are Pakhtoons who therefore rallied behind the ANP on June 2. This gives the entire problem an ethnic and political colour. One can ask if this is a form of gerrymandering?
Re: Pashtuns in Karachi Unite
How intense had the clash between Punjabis and Liaqat Ali Khan, representing his community, become after the March 10, 1951 Punjab's elections blamed to be rigged by Liaqat Ali Khan's Sarakari/Official Muslim League can be gauged from a letter published in Nawai Waqt May 31, 1950. This letter was by Mr. Aziz Hindi leader of "Tanzeem Markazai Aali Zarbai Islam". Nawai Waqt had published it in detail and in a conspicuous way.
"I say it clearly and categorically that only the blood of the sons of western Punjab can ensure the integrity, sovereignty, and stability of Pakistan. It is in the destiney of Punjab to play a more prominent and historical role in the evolution and growth of Pakistan compared to other federal units. Therefore if it didn't have a leading role in the central government, that wouldn't augur well for the present and future of Pakistan. It wouldn't be unjustified calling Punjab the "PRUSSIA" of Pakistan. Punjab has the same importance in Pakistan as Prussia in Germany. Rulers at the center wouldn't be able to run affairs of the state if the opinion of Punjab couldn't be heard and accepted....The Prime Minister of Pakistan should asses the situation before it is too late. And the role of Punjab, which is the backbone of Pakistan, should be adjusted in the scheme of the things at the center center such that the whole of Pakistan is strengthened".
The underlined portions of the text above are interesting and convey certain perceptions as implied by Aziz Hindi. When he says "blood of the sons of western Punjab", he wants to emphasize the fact that the sword-arm of Pakistan is Punjab and it is Punjab that has taken the heavy and sacred job of defending the ideological and geographical frontiers of Pakistan, so role of Punjab in Pakistan must be leading and central. Again, allusion to "PRUSSIA" is interesting. Prussia was the state in Germony that produced the statesmen and military class, which ultimately unified Germany. Last when he tells Prime Minister Liaqat Ali Khan that he should asses the situation before it is too late, he is using the language of voilence and aggression.
Interestingly, Punjab demanded itself a leading role despite the fact that there were other units in the federation as important as the Punjab. East Bangal had a population of 54% and had far greater freedom struggle to its credit than Punjab had.
Nawai Waqt could challenge the powerful Prime Minister, Liaqat Ali Khan, only because it had the backing of bureaucracy e.g. Ghulam Mohammad, Choudri Mohammad Ali, Ayub Khan, etc.
On June 8, 1950, Nawai Waqt editorial writes:
"Due to Governer Raj, Punjab is incuring heavy losses not only within the province but also in the center. Due to the absence of a constitutional govt in the province, Punjab doesn't have a say in the affairs of the center. Due to the absence of a constitutional govt in the province, the two federal ministers from Punjab considered representatives of Punjab have been rendered helpless. This is because there is no constitutional govt in the province backing them. The case of Punjabi officers in the center is altogether useless. The seats of Punjab in the central govt are vacant and the number of federal ministers and vice-ministers is less than the population proportion of the Punjab....".
The two ministers alluded to in the excerpt above were Ghulam Mohammad and Gormani. This newspaper further writes:
"Punjab is wounded. Its wounds need "marham" not "salt". It would still heal despite sprinkling of salt on its wounds but wouldn't it be better that the people at the helm of the affair prove it with their actions and pledges that they are the well-wishers of Punjab. The educated and politically aware classes of Punjab think that what has happened or happening is being done intentionally. And the purpose of all this is to crush and destroy the people of this province who are the most energetic, determined, and active".
It is very interesting that whenever the people of other provinces raised a voice for their rights, they were called traitors so much so that Bangalis were denied their democratic right to form a govt after victory in 1971 elections. Instead, Punjab, en-mass supported military operation against and masscare
of Bangalis."
On 15 July, 1950 it writes:
"Punjab is the heart of Pakistan and there is a delberate effort being waged to crush it. We think that weakening this province is weakening Pakistan and we for the sake of Pakistan will struggle to foil the conspiracy against this province till the time when we are exhausted or we put an end to this conspiracy".
Look at this ag*****zed self-image. Punjab is calling itself "heart", "backbone", etc. of Pakistan as if other provinces are non-entities.
August 31, 1950, Nawai waqt:
"...Very few Punjabi traders who go to Karachi to secure import/export licenses have a pleasant experience...Very few of them get the licenses...Contrary to this, they meet fortunate people in Karachi with multiple licenses in their pokets. And these Punjabi traders purchase these licenses for 50,000 and in some cases for 1,000,00 rupees...Instead of this step-motherly treatment, Punjabi traders should be provided justice...".
Newspapers of Punjab also time and again warned Liaqat Ali Khan about the unrest within army.
The above amply shows, how did the politicians, bureaucracies, and urban middle classes belonging to Muhajirs and Punjabi battled with each other for domination over the "Land of Islamic Brotherhood". Probably, had Liaqat Ali Khan succeeded, Pakistan might not so wholly would've lapsed into the clutches of bureaucracy dominated by one province. Although, Liaqat Ali Khan had dictatorial tendencies, still he had a long career of parliamentary politics and forced by circumstances might have fiound some compromized formula for power-sharing between different units of the federation, the thorny question of Bangal's representation was still there though.
Were foreign powers also interested in bureaucracy taking over Pakistan?
Polarization between Punjabi officials and Muhajir officials had increased during Liaqat Ali KHAN rule so much that both groups had separate social circles. Punjabis called Muhajirs "tulair" and "Bhayai" out of animosity and Muhajirs called Punjabis "ghorai" and "pindos".
After Liaqat Ali Khan, Muhajirs accepted their position as junior partners politically subservient to Punjab-dominated bureaucracy but still a vocal and influential group with a lot of clout.
Re: Pashtuns in Karachi Unite
Hustler25 is an ugly UP wallah bhaiyya spreading his hatred against Pakistanis.. Muhajirs came to Pakistan to seek oppurtunity as most of them belonged to lower-class rejected section of the pre-partitioned India. But after coming to Pakistan, they started politics of divide and rule among the locals- Pashtuns, Pathans, Sindhi etc... We Punjabis let them settle in our lands and enjoy religious freedom but seems that is not the case as they want to suppress the others.. We never asked you ppl to come to Pakistan.. why did you come? Plus, most of the RAW agents in Karachi are UP wallahs.. how can they forget their homeland even after coming to a better country?
Re: Pashtuns in Karachi Unite
You will hear it till eternity. Keep your stats right, these ethnic groups are not named after their provinces, instead these provinces are named after these ethnic groups. A Karachite is the dweller of Karachi city. You have failed to merge in the larger community and thats your blunder, sociologically speaking.
Besides that I wonder on the arguments that only upper and upper middle class people migrated to Pakistan and that they were bureaucrats and Nawabs. I wish the government of Pakistan opens up its archives to people and allows us access to vital records. Factually speaking, the migrants were the lower middle class and poor people mostly with rare exceptions of some rich families. Nawab Sahab, had he loved this country should not have aspired to bring in whole UP here to ensure he gets elected to the Parliament. This was the first reason, Quaid e Azam felt miserable. There was no scheme of migration as such during partition plan. Had it been, we would not have left hundreds of millions of muslims in India.
The glory you attribute to your first generation is skin deep. Most of the so called bureaucrats were clerks in Indian civil services. I tell you why they opt for Pakistan. A grade 12 stenographer was posted as Deputy Commisioner in Pakistan and most 17-18 grade officers were posted on two-three up positions.
If you came for love of the country, why have you holed up in Karachi? Besides this, your being enlightenend race is vindicated by the terrorism you have wreaked on the local populace who welcomed you. Look at your Representatives and think if they could scarcely conform to an educated race you claim yourself to be?
I am not critical of Muhajirs but when it comes to term them to be the most civilised amongst the rest of the people, my blood boils. Superiority comes later, be our equal first.
No civilised person can be happy on the murder of LAK but at the same time no one can be happy on the lamentation of founder of nation’s sister who couldnt just resort to her imagination only when she accused LAK for conspirating against Jinnah.
Re: Pashtuns in Karachi Unite
^ :k: great yaar! You have guts… Yeah mohajirs are most civilized and they commit barbaric acts of murdering innocents in Khajj grounds just cuz they wanted to confirm their superiority.. Most of the mohajirs came to loot the new country they migrated to so that they can become rich- a dream they had harbored since long. A chaprasi in India became a income-tax officer in Pakistan- why wud anyone want to live in India?
Re: Pashtuns in Karachi Unite
Which lands are you talking about man? What does that mean that is underlined? What are the lands Punjabis own?
Re: Pashtuns in Karachi Unite
When they settled in the lands they are laying exclusive claim to now, they raised the slogan of Muslim brotherhood and patriotism ( “Har Mulki Mulki Mast kai mulkai khudayai mast”). And they had come not as equal brothers to share with others but to master and rule…Same would happen in Baluchistan in the name of patriotism and Islamic brotherhood…But now that poor inhabitants of other provinces have moved into “their” area as labourers, there is no more Islamic brotherhood…
Whatever, we cannot reverse history now…what we can do is to stop looking towards the East only…we have an ultrastegic location…and there are opportunities in all directions…we have water resources, hydroelectric power generation potential, hydrocarban resources, minerals, forests, tourism potential, land that can be developed, trade routes, proximity to important energy-rich regions i.e. Caspian Basin and Middle East, etc. We should develop indegenous economic base so our people don’t migrate and don’t face such problems…
We should interact and integrate with the huge world around us rather than look only in one direction…
Re: Pashtuns in Karachi Unite
Arey meray antiobl, you didn't get the point. I was reffering to your point that how the migrated muslims are richer vis-a-vis their counterparts in India. I do not follow the politics of MQM or their supporters and thus would not be in a position to comment on that let alone support it.
Re: Pashtuns in Karachi Unite
Who in the world wants to look solely to the East… But you must admit that Pakistan is looking in all directions.. The pipeline for instance will come frm Iran, and the Gawadar port is intended for trade with Central Asia. Dealing with India just makes economic sense though.
Re: Pashtuns in Karachi Unite
Ya!
Re: Pashtuns in Karachi Unite
I meant us- the Punjabis and the Sindhis- Sindhis are almost same as Punjabis and always suportive of us.
Re: Pashtuns in Karachi Unite
So why is Punjab repaying Sindh by diverting our water for the “common good”?
Re: Pashtuns in Karachi Unite
^ Punjab is the bread basket of entire Pakistan- we produce enuf so that everyone can be fed in Pakistan and we dont have to import food from outside.. in turn we demand some water for serving the needs of the entire Pakistan. Is it wrong? Remember, Pakistan is food sufficient because of Punjab. Had it been not been for the rich fertile lands of Punjab, Pakistan would have begged outside for food.
Re: Pashtuns in Karachi Unite
Without those “ugly UP wallah bhaiyyas”, your Punjab would still be part of Greater India and your rulers would be Sikh.
Re: Pashtuns in Karachi Unite
Do you know anything about Sindh’s agriculture? Do you know what would happen to Punjab, if you stopped stealing electricity from NWFP and gas from Balochistan at cheap prices? Or would would happen if Punjab lost port access?
Re: Pashtuns in Karachi Unite
i think your memory isn,t working properly there are more punjabi muslims then punjabi sikh so how could they be incharge of punjab:D
Re: Pashtuns in Karachi Unite
Grand Pa Sardar Ji Ziaul-Haq, the Ameerul Momineen, harboured the same dreams until blown in an air crash. One friend told me, he saw his ghosts in a dream and he had one mastache of his own and one buttok that of Micheal Rapheal...
Anyhow, best luck with the plans...
Re: Pashtuns in Karachi Unite
Thease Punjabis don't know agricultural is a provincial subject. So pricing, taxation, and supply of wheat is under the exclusive of Punjab Govt. And other provinces pay hard cash to buy wheat from Punjab in inter-provincial trade.